This Young Achiever Exemplifies Perseverance

If attitude is everything, then Dina Springer has it all (“For Graduate, Each Obstacle Is Really an Opportunity,” May 30). This inspiring young woman has not changed a lot since I first met her when she was 5 years old. I can’t help but recall snippets of Dina throughout her childhood as the poster child for United Cerebral Palsy serving Southern California: bright-eyed, optimistic, lighting up every room she entered through her years as a smiling spokesperson.

As your story illustrates, Dina is an example for able-bodied people as much as she is for people with disabilities. As the disability community grapples with tough issues that go far beyond the confines of Los Angeles--including poverty wages for caregivers and including accessibility of public spaces for all persons--it is a good reminder that even seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome.

--RONALD S. COHEN

Executive Director, United

Cerebral Palsy of L.A., Ventura

and Santa Barbara