How we are judged

We had an extraordinary reaction from readers to our November 26 issue - especially to the article written by the Queensland mum.

We had an extraordinary reaction from readers to our November 26 issue - especially to the article written by the Queensland mum who'd signed over her disabled son to the full-time care of the state because she couldn't get proper help to keep him at home.

Another Queensland mother wrote to us, saying out of desperation she'd simply refused to take her son home from hospital - he ended up spending nine months in a psychiatric ward because he had nowhere else to go.

Sandi Seymour, from Queensland Parents for People With a Disability, wrote that she sees families in this level of distress regularly and often has parents asking how they can relinquish care of a child.

There's an oft-quoted saying that is worth remembering: A society is judged by how it treats its weakest members.