To the Editor:

Re “To Fly, She Uses Her Voice” (Arts pages, June 13) and “Ali Stroker Makes History as First Wheelchair User to Win a Tony” ( news article, nytimes .com, June 9):

Ali Stroker was in a car accident at 2 a nd “has no me mory of walking.” But when she was 7, a 12-year-old neighbor, Rachel Antonoff , returned from theater camp and cast her in a backyard show of “Annie” in the title role. Instead of people staring at her because she was in a wheelchair, they were staring because she was “the star.” Wow.

We know that there are 12-year-old bullies out there. (Older ones, too.) But the kindness and vote of confidence of the young Ms. Antonoff made all the difference. Now, not only is Ali Stroker belting out “I Cain’t Say No,” she’s telling children with disabilities, “You can do it.”

And she did so at the Tonys, wearing a neon yellow dress designed by her friend, the fashion designer Rachel Antonoff.

What a powerful and inspiring story.

Carol Weston

New York

The writer is a novelist and has been an advice columnist at Girls’ Life for 25 years.