OPINION: Early help can build better lives

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when children with special needs, whether physical, emotional or developmental, were relegated to whatever space was left over in a public school building. They would disappear into these unappealing classrooms in the morning and often were not seen again until the end of the school day.

Today, that is not true. Although special education services are the subject of a good deal of controversy since the federal government mandates that they receive specific and often costly services - paid for by county and state governments that are increasingly ...