I read Oliver James's thoughts on the International Day of the Disabled and realised that for the first time there was someone thinking the same way as me (Letters, March 22).

Disabled people do not want to be treated any differently to the rest of the community but I am afraid there is a small minority of disabled people that do and it is these people who make it difficult for the rest of us.

Some years ago there was a Brighton and Hove councillor called Roy Pennington who was disabled himself. I once had to see him about street access. He is a brilliant man who was able to help me and by the end of the interview he had given me a list of places where I could get help.

He treated me as an individual and did not do everything for me. When I left, what he said to me has stuck in my mind to this day. He said: "You are a special person within yourself but you are no different to anyone else when you are in the street."

Disabled people do not want to be special. Unfortunately there are organisations in Brighton and Hove that want to make us different.

I attended the Brighton and Hove Disabled Day and saw comedian Laurence Clark. It was a waste of money. The meeting was amateurish, poorly organised and poorly attended.

Of all the thousands of disabled people in the city there were only about 100 people there and some of them were helpers.

I have travelled alone around England with the help of website DisabledGo and to think the council is withdrawing its grant fills me with horror.

What is the council thinking of wasting money on a disabled day when the majority of people do not want it?

If the council wants to do something for disabled people, what about employing an officer for disability?

This person could then find out what disabled people really want and not what the council thinks we want.

  • Joan Wilson, Regency Square, Brighton