In Kaunas court – picket: the mother of an autistic young man who has made a decision about scabies in a desperate situation

On the eve of the hearing, on November 2, 15 minutes The newsroom received a letter from the autistic group “Autistic. All about autism ”by Eridos. He reported widespread community concern over the case and the fate of the defendants. Therefore, it was decided to organize a picket in court.

Will a state that has not provided the necessary assistance to this family also be judged?

“There will be a meeting about Alytus’s mother, who is in prison. She is raising a child with severe autism. Unaware of the tears on the hillside and without psychological resistance <...> (The letter indicates the method of the suicide attempt, which the law cannot make public, – ed. Past). The autism community of the group I founded supports the mother because the state where parents live and raise their children with autism spectrum disorders kills. We care about this mom’s story and we cannot remain indifferent. The question is: will a state that has not provided the necessary assistance to this family also be judged? The state must be punished, not the mother! Erida said in the letter.

Pickler: “We all had those thoughts”

The hearing of the case in which Alytus was tried was scheduled for Tuesday at 9 pm Half an hour before the Kaunas Regional Courthouse, a group of women met, indifferent to this situation.

“The situation may seem extraordinary for Lithuanian society, but if we talk about the community of autistic families, we are not surprised by this situation. We do not support the mother’s action (in the case of the defendant – Past aut.), But we understand. Each of us has had such a situation and such thoughts at least once. I want to talk about the responsibility of civil society towards these families.

First of all, they are faced with a situation in which the people closest to them leave the mother and child alone. It’s complicated. But when state institutions start to ignore, they don’t help … Sometimes they even get a bad word from them. That word is sometimes the last straw. You are looking for help, you are calling, you are trying to find a way out, but you cannot find it, ”said Tatjana Narkevičienė, representative of the Lithuanian Human Rights Association, who was interviewed in court.

Each of us has had such a situation and such thoughts at least once.

It seems strange to him that having such a challenge, a child with a severe disability, is not only not helped by state institutions, doctors, but sometimes even hampered, it hurts.

“Even in the store you hear others, ‘Oh, how bad is that boy.’ He also turns to the fairy tale:” That boy is very good, he just feels bad, “said T. Narkevičienė.

He explained that the mother who is raising the autistic child works with him “24 hours a day, without rest, without vacations, all his life, until he is caught.” Speaking of possible help, the woman alluded to a respite service that many autistic mothers do not receive.

“I needed surgery, I ran through Kaunas, I couldn’t find a place where I could leave my son for 2 or 3 days. If I am a single mother, I don’t have to run in that direction. Don’t feel safe. The audience expects sensations, seeks even greater pain, but thinks about how that mother (defendant in the case – aut. Past) should have felt to be able to do it. He turned to various institutions for help. Did those workers later apologize to the family? How they sleep There is an article in the Penal Code about leading a person to suicide. And now the prosecutor asks for a royal prison for the mother, the man who decided to die. We saved him to put him in prison ”, T. Narkevičienė could not be surprised.

When asked how many families with an autistic child there are in Kaunas, he suggested contacting the mayor of Kaunas, Visvaldas Matijošaitis, and asking him if he was aware of these statistics or if he had a long-term strategy to help those families.

“Autistic children have great potential, but to extract all their talents it takes a lot of work, you have to mobilize the family and society. And we walk and beg, we demand, because generally we don’t get anything, ”said T. Narkevičienė, one of the organizers of the picket.

These parents are parents without the right to get sick or die.

Loreta Mickūnaitė, director of the Children’s Day Center in Kaunas “Stretch the helping hand”, who is raising an autistic child, also participated in the picket. She shared what the families raising these children have to deal with.

“Sleepless nights don’t last like a year or two after the baby is born. They don’t end, especially if the child is attached. I don’t remember when I normally fell asleep. You can’t leave a child, many moms are single because the parents , who seem to find it too difficult, leave the family and those moms are left alone.

I have created three day centers. Of the 60 children who visit them, 35 have a disability. The need for services for children with disabilities is growing enormously and it takes a long time to receive them. For example, you may have to wait half a year to get to a children’s day center. Everything is slow, there is no respite. There is a lack of specialists, special kindergartens, schools, there are no places in them. If the institutions are private, they do not bite them because the mother does not have as much money to raise a sick child. State aid is insufficient. Help is provided, but its availability … I am not talking about regions, provinces at all.

These parents are parents without the right to get sick or die. It’s very frustrating. This case shows the desperate situation you have to find yourself in if the only visible way is to die, ”said L. Mickūnaitė, admitting that running a nursery costs around 300 thousand a year. and there are not enough funds: there are children who do not have enough social care, they need care, an individual specialist.

He remembered the story when he was young (chess master Aleksandras Yegorov was convicted at the same Kaunas Regional Court – aut. Past). smothered the pillow with his sick motherBecause he did not receive help in time, he no longer knew what to turn to.

“There is a community of mothers. They say to each other, “If it’s wrong, say, at any time, day or night, let’s go.” Only those who are directly exposed to a disability when the child needs constant care, breastfeeding, understand how to quickly decompose. Such parents are isolated, they do not go out into society. I couldn’t get out for three years, four walls. Such a situation can drive anyone crazy, ”explained L. Mickūnaitė.

Defendant’s lawyer: “The woman did not realize what she was doing”

Aušra Ručienė, a lawyer, represents the interests of the defendants in an exceptional case in which a 42-year-old man from Alytus is accused of attempting to murder a seriously ill minor son. 15 minutes admitted that the woman (defendant in the case) was in dire straits, unaware of what she was doing.

“Before making a decision, she addressed many institutions: Health Minister Aurelijus Verygas, Rimante Šalaševičiūtė (Member of the Seimas, ed. Past.), All public institutions. She said:” My son has a severe form of autism Please help me, I can still deal with him, but I will need protection later, I will no longer be able to take care of him.

It was the most terrible when the final diagnosis was made at the Druskininkai Children’s Sanitarium, when the boy cried and screamed due to a serious form of the disease. The staff said your son is interfering with other people receiving treatment. A comment was made to make it clear that a woman with her child is undesirable. The woman returned home at night, she realized that there was no help, the child was in a difficult condition and she decided to commit suicide with her son, “the lawyer told the heartbreaking story.

The mother and child were rescued by accidental youth. They admitted in court, according to the lawyer, that the defendant was inadequate at the time, he did not understand the situation.

“It seems strange that the testimonies of the paramedic and the policeman, who came after all, did not see the situation itself. During the incident, the mother (defendant – aut. Past) had a vertebral fracture, was treated and immediately admitted to a psychiatric ward in the Kaunas clinics. She was examined, the result of which we see today: a woman is being tried in court, accused of committing a very serious crime. You can even be sentenced to life imprisonment.

It is terrible when the state does not take care of those families, children, mothers, it did not provide any help. The answer is: “The restructuring is underway, we cannot help you.” Or you received an invitation to the Seimas members conference. I’m having fun, it’s scary. I believe that this case did not have to go to court, a strict decision had to be made by the investigating authorities, but once again they referred everything to the court. And the court, if it acts in accordance with the law, the consequences will be sad. The child will grow up without a mother or family, and the mother is unlikely to endure in prison, ”said the defendant’s attorney.

According to her, the events took place in July last year, on the eve the mother learned of the child’s diagnosis: a severe form of autism, when the child does not react to anything, just screams, screams and screams, denies with head.

“That is scary. Only mothers who raise these children can understand that,” said A.Ručienuró.

According to her, the accused’s son, who did not suffer during the event, only had a bruise fixed, he currently lives with his father, the mother is separated, and has not seen her son since that fateful event.

“The father of a two-year-old was in the care of the family, but he was working abroad, and the son was in the care of a remaining mother. They are raising another teenager, she is wonderfully educated and talented. My mother put a lot into their education and extracurricular activities. Now there is family and help: the rights of the child, after the event just began to communicate. The woman suffers a lot, survives. Only now do they begin to realize what happened. It is an incomprehensible psychological pain in the mind. Can we judge a mother who wants to die herself? “The lawyer posed a rhetorical question.

Rescued by passersby

15 minutes Remember that on July 20 of last year a stroller was left on the 1000th anniversary bridge in Alytus. They pulled two people out of the water. Then it was reported that first a child and then a woman fluttered in the water of the Nemunas River. They both survived the incident, and those around them helped them out of the water.

Finally, a pre-trial investigation was launched. According to Tomas Stelionis, the prosecutor of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office, who on Tuesday supported the accusation in this case, the woman is accused of trying to kill her minor, a defenseless relative. He faces a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years.

“The investigation of the evidence has not yet been completed, the requests have been considered in court today. The case is being heard in private, so I could no longer comment on it, ”said the prosecutor.

Asked whether he was surprised by the picket held in court, T. Stelionis assured that he had not gone into the claims expressed by the picket because he was in a hurry to attend the court hearing.

The defendant in the case, according to him, has yet to give testimony.

“During the pre-trial investigation, such detailed data and answers to all questions of interest were also not provided. Much will depend on his position. He claimed he pleaded guilty, but we did not know the content until the survey was conducted.” 15 minutes said the prosecutor.