Page 8 of 30 foster mothers and one or two social workers. The applicants added that they were allowed to visit these children only a couple of times a year, under the supervision of social workers, teachers or foster parents; it appears that as time went by they tended to avoid such visits, which they considered humiliating, notably on account of the visiting conditions. The material before the Court reveals that Mr. and/or Mrs. Olsson saw Helena and Thomas in March 1981 at a neutral place in Gothenburg; in September 1981 at their foster homes; in December 1981 at Stefan’s foster home; and just before Easter 1982 at Helena’s foster home. The Commission’s report contains a more general statement to the effect that the applicants met the two younger children "three times a year during the first years". The applicants do not appear to have paid any visits to them between June 1984 and the spring of 1987. 3. Attitude of the applicants 26. Before the Commission, the Government referred to problems that had arisen as regards cooperation between the applicants on the one hand and the children’s foster parents and the social authorities on the other (see paragraphs 100, 101, 109, 110 and 111 of the Commission’s report). The applicants’ submissions to the Commission on this point are summarised as follows: "That the applicants would co-operate with the social workers is completely unthinkable. The action of these social workers is completely in conflict with the applicants’ own understanding of how children and adults and family members and others ought to show respect and consideration. ... It must be added that if the applicants were to cooperate with the foster parents and the social workers they would risk passing on to their children the totally wrong impression that the separation of children and parents and the placement of the children in foster homes had occurred with the consent of the applicants. This would be completely disastrous to the self-respect of the applicants’ children if they had the wrong impression that their natural parents did not wish them to be at home with them." (ibid., paragraph 80 in fine) D. Requests for termination of care 27. Following a request by the applicants for termination of the care of the children, a meeting was held on 1 June 1982 at the Council’s office, at which the applicants, their lawyer and official counsel for the children were present. On the same day, the Council rejected the request. It based its decision on reports compiled by the social administration and dated 24, 25 and 26 May 1982, which concluded that the parents were then incapable of giving the children the necessary support and encouragement. Annexed to the reports were statements from the psychologist Helena Fagerberg-Moss, social workers and a school teacher, indicating that the children had made satisfactory progress since being taken into care. 28. The applicants thereupon appealed to the County Administrative Court. It held a hearing on 4 November 1982, at which the applicants were present and assisted by a lawyer; the Council was represented by a lawyer and two social workers and the children by official counsel. Dr. Bosaeus and a social expert from the County Administrative Board (länsstyrelsen; see paragraph 41 below) gave evidence - the former at the request of the applicants’ lawyer - and various written opinions from a psychologist, a welfare officer, a school teacher of Stefan and his school doctor were read out. The President of the Court also summarised the documents on which the Council’s decision had been based. The applicants submitted that the medical report of 12 September 1980 (see paragraph 12 above) contained clearly false information, by affirming that they were mentally retarded, and did not indicate any concrete facts showing that the children would have been in danger if they had continued to live with their parents. The Council, for its part, asserted that its refusal to terminate care had been based not on the applicants’ being mentally retarded but on their inability to satisfy the children’s need for care, stimulation and supervision. In its judgment of 17 November 1982, the County Administrative Court, in addition to confirming the restrictions on parental access to Stefan (see paragraph 22 above), held as follows (translation from the Swedish): "The facts of the case show that the children suffered to a greater or lesser extent from different types of disturbance http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/viewhbkm.asp?sessionId=60525252&skin=hudoc-en&a... 10/13/2010