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Fabian Pfister’s family
I am Andreas Pfister, Fabian’s father. He is unable to provide any information himself as he has had multiple disabilities since birth. I am also his support and take care of everything financially for him.
Fabian is 27 years old. He has cerebral palsy and is paralyzed on one side. He is also a so-called atypical autistic person. Their mental abilities are comparable to those of a child between the ages of two and seven. For example, you cannot chat with him, but he asks questions and understands requests. Fabian tries to do the best he can, but he needs help with almost everything. He has been living in homes for the mentally and physically disabled since the age of 18.
I am also 61 years old, I was a primary school teacher and retired early last summer. My wife is 60 years old and also a teacher. Still working. Our younger son is 21 years old and currently studying to be a teacher.
Income from Fabian
In total, Fabian has an income of approximately 74,000 francs a year. Of this amount, approximately 20,000 francs consist of the IV pension, 49,000 francs of supplementary benefits, mostly additional benefits for living at home, and slightly less than 6,000 francs of the so-called helplessness compensation. The second is support, measured by the level of assistance a person needs in daily living; All kinds of assistance, from tying shoes to helping brush teeth to cutting chicken legs at the dinner table, must be documented by the institution, that is, the home. IV pays IV pension and despair allowance; Additional aid comes from the canton.
Fabian’s expenses
Residence: Fabian’s dormitory costs around 61,000 francs a year, all inclusive. It’s a nice house and well maintained. Fabian has his own room, his own sitting area, and spends three afternoons a week in the studio; Here he grinds coffee beans, draws pictures or punches something. He comes to our house every weekend from Friday evening to Sunday evening. Plus seven weeks vacation. 3,000 francs of Fabian’s helplessness compensation goes home, because that’s where most of the aid is provided.
Mobile phone: Fabian has a mobile phone so he can call us if anything happens. For example, if he travels independently on the bus on the weekend and misses a connection. Then we need to find a new connection. The subscription costs a good 28 francs per month.
Health insurance: We pay 562 francs a month, including additional insurance. Fabian has general insurance. Since we can deduct all franchise costs, there are no franchise payments. The municipality covers the basic insurance (506 francs) and is part of the supplementary benefits. We have to pay the additional insurance.
Insurance: Our son has liability insurance through us as a family. His share is 180 francs per year.
Direction: IV pension is taxable. Fabian has an income of 0 francs thanks to the deductions he can make due to his illness, so he only pays the poll tax. 25 francs per year in Zurich.
Retirement provision: Like all non-working persons, disabled persons aged 20 and up to 65 must pay the minimum AHV contribution. For Fabian, this figure is 530 francs a year. It’s a thought we always have: What will happen to Fabian after we’re gone?
House: The things Fabian needs for his daily hygiene come together here: skin cream, hair gel, toothbrush, shaving supplies, shower gel, etc. This equates to approximately 500 francs a year or 40 francs a month.
Meals outside the home: The home life group goes to the cafe once a week to drink an Ovi or eat dessert. When they go shopping together, Fabian likes to buy rice cakes. We have to cover these expenses. In total it costs about 150 francs per month.
Clothes: It is important for us that Fabian dresses well. We believe this is important for him too. But of course we look at the price. We have to pay 120 francs for a pair of prosthetic shoes. He needs special trousers with elastic bands, which cost at least 160 francs. Over the last few years, he has gained a lot of weight due to medication, it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to walk, and he is often confined to a wheelchair. We had to buy a lot of new clothes. In total we spend about 125 francs a month on clothes and shoes.
Mobility: Fabian loves traveling by train and bus. I think movement is what gives him joy. He rarely looks out the window. He likes to play Uno on the train. Our friends and we go on regular trips with him. He had a GA for the disabled, which cost 2,600 francs a year. It’s already expensive. That’s why we’re now testing whether it’s cheaper with a network subscription, half ticket card and individual tickets. We budgeted 1,800 francs for public transport trips, including the network subscription. A free GA for disabled people – SBB and Co. I think it would be a very nice gesture for us.
Spare time: The annual expenditure of 1,700 francs is mainly for excursions, excluding train tickets. So, food in the dining car, admission to the zoo, things like that. We used to go on holiday with Fabian. For example, on ski holidays there was a special ski bob and ski instructor. But at some point he didn’t want that anymore. Today he sleeps only at home or in the shelter. He feels comfortable there. He doesn’t want to go on holiday at home either. He is always with us at home.
Eroticism: Fabian, a grown man, also has sexual needs. Fortunately, today this is accepted as at least ideal. There is a sex therapist in the house. Like us and Fabian’s family doctor, he is of the opinion that it should be possible for him to experience his sexuality. He goes to the so-called touchers once a week. You work in a regular massage studio offering tantra or other erotic massages. These massages are very important to Fabian. His aggressive behavior towards young women has noticeably improved.
However, when it comes to money, recognition of the sexual needs of disabled people ends. A massage costs 170 francs, which is almost 8,200 francs per year. Nobody covers these expenses. If we want Fabian to have a sex life, we have to pay for it ourselves. I tried the health insurance company, Pro Infirmis and all kinds of foundations. Everyone agrees that people like Fabian should have sexual experience, but no one feels responsible for financing it.
Emergency Spitex operations: Emergency Spitex is used about six times a year. For example, when Fabian urinated on the road or sat on a chair because he realized it too late and we couldn’t come. Until we moved house a few months ago, this meant she could no longer leave and had to stay in the group home. Until recently Fabian wanted to avoid this at all costs. Therefore, in such cases, he strongly requested Spitex to clean him in the public toilet. After that he was able to continue his journey. Such an endeavor costs at least 150 francs per person, plus a 600-franc annual membership fee. This currently raises around 1,500 francs a year for the Spitex emergency. We have to cover these costs ourselves. It is now possible for Fabian to be bathed at home and then allowed to go out again, but he has not yet understood this and still refuses to return home occasionally.
People with disabilities are well cared for in Switzerland. This is really nice. If they want to participate in social life, it will be expensive for their relatives. If you subtract Fabian’s expenses from his income, this results in a loss of almost 13,000 francs per year. We, a few teachers, can perhaps still afford 8,000 francs a year for a tap and other additional expenses, but others cannot. Their children were certainly unlucky. I don’t think this should be the case in an inclusive society.
by Raphael Brunner
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
