Haylie and Isobell
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
Haylie is autistic and has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair. About 10 years ago, Haylie moved into a supported care facility when her mother, Isobell, could no longer care for her.
At first all went well. But after a few years the service provider brought a new client, Jasmine, into the home.
‘And this client is a very big client,’ Isobell told the Royal Commission. ‘She has extremely violent behaviours.’
Isobell said Jasmine ‘abused everybody’.
‘She punched people, she hurt them. It wasn't just the clients. It was the staff. The other clients – as you know, the staff aren't allowed to touch the clients – and they all used to be able to get away. But [Haylie], being in a wheelchair, couldn't. So [Haylie] became a target.’
Isobell noticed that Haylie had scratches on her neck and her jewellery was broken, but staff at the home didn’t tell her that Jasmine was responsible.
‘So, they lied to me about so many things … They said, "[Haylie] must've done it," but I didn't know that [Jasmine] was attacking her at that time and pulling at her jewellery and scratching her neck. I didn't know this was happening, coz nobody told me.’
As a result of the assaults Haylie started to self-harm.
‘She had to start wearing a helmet because of her self-harming. She had to have a special harness added to the chair because she would throw herself out of the chair. She stands with difficulty now, whereas she used to be able to get out of the chair. She had no restraints before she went into the house. None. She used to be able to get out of the chair, get onto her bed by herself, do everything.’
One day when police were at the home they noticed the interaction between Jasmine and Haylie. ‘They said, "This needs to be stopped”,’ Isobell recalled. They went to court and asked for a restraining order against Jasmine, but the judge did not agree.
Isobell was not the only one concerned about Jasmine’s behaviour, and eventually the NDIS oversight body became involved and required the service provider to move her to a different unit.
Isobell hoped this would mean that Haylie’s place at the home was secure, as it was now a facility only for wheelchair users. But the provider asked her to leave.
‘They don't want behaviours … Well, that means they don't want the trouble,’ Isobell said.
Isobell believes this is unfair, given Haylie’s difficult behaviours are the result of Jasmine’s abuse.
‘I mean, she shreds her hands. She bites her hands so hard. She's got permanent scars, and she just shreds them. She's very, very angry ... I can't even control her now, and that really upsets me … But, so, we're looking for houses for [Haylie], but it's going to be a really very hard transition, because she's going to be so stressed out because of what has happened in the past … The way she is, she's not the girl that went into that house. She's a totally different, angry person.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.