Parents of Disabled Children Exhausted by System, Not Their Children, Activist Says

Parents of children with developmental disabilities are not exhausted by their children, but by the systemic failures that force them to constantly prove rights already guaranteed by law. Suzana Rešetar, president of the Sjena association and mother of an autistic young man, voiced this frustration, emphasizing the immense burden placed on families. "Hey, hold on a minute! It's not the time to lecture parents who have been under a burden for years that the system should be carrying," Rešetar stated, highlighting the disconnect between societal expectations and the reality faced by these families.

Rešetar has been publicly advocating for years about the state and institutional treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities. Her activism comes as the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy announced a significant policy change: enabling the employment of personal assistants within state-run social welfare institutions. Previously, such assistance was primarily channeled through associations.

This development aims to ease some of the administrative burden on parents. However, Rešetar questions the implementation, asking how the state can announce the hiring of 2,000 assistants while parents are still required to navigate complex procedures to secure these services. The core issue remains the systemic responsibility for providing support, which Rešetar argues should be managed by institutions rather than falling solely on parents to initiate and prove their need.