Choco and Amie
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.
Choco, late 40s, is autistic and non-verbal and has intellectual disability and anxiety.
He lives in supported independent living (SIL) accommodation with two other men who also have high support needs.
‘He has had incidents in the past,’ his mother Amie told the Royal Commission, ‘where he has been hurt or neglected by staff’.
There was a house manager and a community access worker who, instead of taking Choco to his day program, would drive him to their homes. They would go inside and leave Choco outside in the car, sometimes for hours.
Another time, a former resident physically abused Choco until staff eventually removed the resident.
The service provider addressed the incidents, but they caused Choco’s anxiety attacks to become more frequent and intense.
‘He will drop to the ground … sweating not wanting to be moved.’
Recently Amie noticed severe bruising on his arms. She believes a support worker tried to pull him up during an anxiety attack.
Amie says there is ‘a large input needed from staff to be able to support all three men’, and there isn’t enough funding to adequately staff the home.
Over the past couple of years, the NDIA has cut the men’s funding and the provider has reduced staff numbers.
Sometimes there is only one staff member ‘trying to deal with everything’ – support, personal care, shopping, food preparation, washing and cleaning.
Amie tried to get the NDIA to fund some housework, but ‘they have doggedly refused to do this’.
Staff don’t have time to help the men participate in the community or do capacity building activities.
Choco has a communication device but staff need to be able to respond to him immediately, which is not always possible.
‘I think that adds to his frustration and to his sense of anxiety, because his needs can’t be met.’
Amie wrote to the NDIA detailing the neglect Choco and the men were experiencing and asked for a review.
‘I expected to get a reasonable response from them, and I got absolutely nothing back … no acknowledgment that they have received it.’
Amie has found it difficult to find someone to talk to.
‘The whole system needs to change to make it more friendly for people to be able to access and use.’
In the end Amie had to go into an NDIS office and show them photos of Choco’s bruising and further specialist reports to get a review.
‘I don’t necessarily hold out hope that it’s going to make an enormous difference. I’m hopeful that we can make it better for [Choco] and the men in the house, but something has to happen in terms of this disparity between what the NDIS is saying they value and what they want to do to help people, and the fact that they’re not staffing, in particular, the SIL funded group homes.’
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.