In Greece, parents abandoned their son with autism at a day center – “I can’t take it anymore”

In the city Patrasin western Greece, an incident occurred that shocked even a society accustomed to tragedies. On Friday parents refused to pick up their 17 year old sonsuffering from autism, from a day center where he received regular classes.

When the center staff called my father, he answered: “I have work, I can’t come”. The mother, for her part, stated: “I looked after him for seventeen years. I can’t do it anymore”.

Boy with diagnosis high functioning autism visited the institution only once a week. According to local media, the child’s parents are divorced and their relationship remains extremely tense. After his parents refused, the boy remained under supervision social worker and psychologist center, and was later transferred to the Patras Police Department.

Around ten in the evening the teenager picked him up grandmother — the only one from the family who responded. City authorities confirmed that the situation was under control, but caused a sharp public reaction.

Where the family ends and the state begins

The incident was a painful reminder of weaknesses of the social system Greece. According to ELSTATabout 7% of the country’s population faces moderate or severe food and social insecurityand institutions supporting families with disabled children are chronically underfunded.

The story from Patras showed that Fatigue and despair of parents often encounter state indifference. In a country where caring for a child with special needs falls almost entirely on the family, the line between human frailty and crime becomes increasingly blurred.

When a mother says, “I can’t do this anymore,” it’s not only a personal tragedy, but also a recognition of a systemic failure—the very state that is supposed to protect the vulnerable, but is itself even more tired.

Source link