Editor’s Note: The following is a letter written by Holyoke High student Sarah Cavanaugh. Sarah was the subject of a Spotlight article last year for The Herald. In the letter, she addresses Republican candidate Donald Trump and his recent comments about the disabled community. The letter’s content was only edited for grammar.

Dear Donald Trump,

I am a seventeen-year-old girl born with a disability called cerebral palsy. It affects my left arm and left leg. It also affects my learning. I also have autism and mental retardation. My identical twin sister, Willow, was also born with major autism and has cerebral palsy in both her legs and her arms. She isn’t able to walk at all, she’s in a wheelchair.

It is not easy being a disabled person because there are a lot of obstacles which make our daily lives a challenge. It really upsets me that your comments were received to the disabled community of a disabled person because that’s just how they were born. It’s not something they asked for. That’s just how they live their life. As people we all have rights. Disabled people need special programs because they don’t learn the same way other people learn. They need an education that fits their needs and benefits their lives so they can live independently on their own in the community of Holyoke and other areas of the world.

There is no reason for this unreasonable behavior of yours. It is not a joking matter to laugh about people who have physical or mental problems. It is a very rude and disrespectful thing to do to anyone regardless of what problems they have, people are people just the same. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

Sincerely,

Sarah Cavanaugh