A mother in Kongerslev near Aalborg has drawn thousands of reactions to a Facebook post about her 7-year-old son’s distress at the start of the new school year, and the difficulty of getting help from Aalborg Municipality.
DR reported on August 22 that Maria Stavad Hansen shared a photo of her son Magnus on his first day in 1.A on August 13. In the picture, the boy wears large headphones to block out noise and has turned toward the classroom’s yellow brick wall. Her caption said this is also what a first day of school can look like.
According to DR, the mother says her son was exhausted despite the long summer holiday. She says his condition has worsened since he started 0. klasse a year earlier, and that he has severe stress reactions after school, saying he wants to die and that he hates himself. The family suspects Magnus has autism, and his mother has the diagnosis herself.
Over the past year the family has seen alarming behavior, DR reports. The mother describes her son talking about swallowing plastic to die, being found with a hammer against his forehead, and trying to stab himself with a fork. She also says he placed a sleeping bag over his sleeping little sister’s face and later threatened to harm her with a knife, so the family has hidden knives and scissors.
The family contacted the municipality’s Pædagogisk Psykologisk Rådgivning before Magnus began 0. klasse, and has notified authorities about its own situation several times in hope of urgent help. DR reports that several meetings and psychological assessments have taken place, but no psychiatric evaluation has been arranged. The family has now completed an extensive questionnaire about his wellbeing at the doctor and awaits a decision on a referral.
Municipality points to two-month deadline
In a written comment to DR, acting PPR chief in Aalborg Municipality, Merete Villsen, said she cannot comment on individual cases. She stated that each case begins with dialogue between the home and the school or institution, with relevant professionals brought in as needed. When a pedagogical psychological assessment is required, the goal is completion within two months, a deadline she said Aalborg meets.
Aalborg Municipality’s service description from 2025 states that families can ask a school to involve PPR or contact PPR directly. The municipality’s information page for parents says that children assessed to be in the target group are referred electronically to Børne- og UngeBehandling at PPR Aalborg.
Local outlet MinByAalborg reported in 2026 that the municipality’s quick-help offer for children in mental distress has a waiting time of about 3.5 months for a screening conversation. That is longer than the political goals of a preliminary talk within 14 days and screening within 30 days. The outlet noted that Aalborg plans to add two extra therapists during 2026.
A council document from 2026 states that national requirements introduced in 2024 oblige all municipalities to build treatment offers together with child and adolescent psychiatry. Aalborg’s offer, aimed at children from school starting age to 17, is planned to be in full operation in 2026.
