Parents of autistic children feel violated by public employees

Consequently, many of them have gone down with stress or depression

Lucie Rychla

Aug 4, 2015

Parents of autistic children in Denmark feel badly treated and often violated by employees in the public sector, reports DR.

Municipalities: autists are parasites
A survey carried out by Landsforeningen Autisme (Danish association for autism) shows more than half of the interviewed members feel mistreated when dealing with the public system.

“In recent years, we have noticed municipalities use words like ‘explosive expenses’, ‘parasitic’ and ‘spoiled’ when describing severely disabled autistic people,” stated Heidi Thamestrup, the head of Landsforeningen Autisme.

More than 75 percent of the 1,200 interviewed stated they have experienced psychological problems such as stress, anxiety and depression as a result of their dealings with the public sector.

Can’t take it anymore
One of the parents, Tina Hedensted from Skanderborg, who for years fought for the right to get relief assistance and to send her autistic son to a special school, is among those suffering from stress.

“Some nights I lie thinking that I should just throw in the towel and move Victor to a residential institution, because I just cannot manage the hassle anymore,” unemployed Hedensted admitted.

More than a third of the interviewed parents have either been laid off, fired or quit their jobs themselves.

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Parents of autistic children feel violated by public employees

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