MY grandson, Matthew, has the rare condition, William's Syndrome, which was the subject of 'The Mind Traveller' on BBC2 on December 5.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph TV writeup for the programme was as follows: "Oliver Sacks meets Heidi Comfort, an eight year old girl who suffers from William's Syndrome, a rare disease which means she will never be able to lead an independent life."

Compare this with the much more positive writeup from another publication: "Oliver Sacks examines William's Syndrome, which affects brain and body but leaves sufferers with an enhanced gift for human relationships."

The writeup from the Evening Telegraph is a prime example of how handicapped and disabled people are, in one short sentence, 'written off.'

For those who watched the programme, it is obvious the future for William's sufferers is not bleak.

Matthew, six, goes to mainstream school, can wash up, hoover, dust and bake. He plays simple card and parlour games with enthusiasm and is articulate and well-mannered.

Had I not had personal knowledge of this rare condition (it is not a disease), I would have felt desperately sorry for sufferers who were doomed 'never to lead an independent life.'

MARIAN BECK (Mrs), Crosby Close, Darwen.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.