Silas and Leilani
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.
‘They keep telling me that they were perfectly within in their rights to put him in this sensory isolation room simply because he had a diagnosis, and they didn't need to tell us or consult with us or medical professionals.’
When Silas started kindergarten in the mid-2010s, teachers assessed him as academically gifted and ‘grade accelerated’ him to year 1.
Around this time, he was diagnosed as autistic.
Leilani, his mum, told the Royal Commission that Silas had a successful first two years. The school was very good at making classroom adjustments and Silas excelled academically.
At the end of year 2, Silas ‘changed almost overnight’. Teachers dismissed Leilani’s concerns, blaming Silas’s autism.
In year 3 Silas’s wellbeing deteriorated further.
‘He just started to sink, becoming really, really sad.’
The school tried to build a case that he was not suitable for mainstream school. They used his disability ‘as a weapon against him’.
About halfway through the year, Leilani found out about a sensory room the school used to manage Silas. Staff sent him there three or four times a day. On at least one occasion, they locked him in the room without supervision. Leilani was devastated when she found out about the room.
She also discovered the deputy principal would film Silas and threaten to show the video to his mother.
Silas became withdrawn, did not want to attend school and began having meltdowns. He developed a fear of the dark, was having nightmares and his anxiety increased. His academic privileges were removed and teaching staff often sent him home from school.
Silas went from attending school full-time to only two hours a day, under the proviso Leilani supervised him during this time. There was no continuity of lessons and the teacher didn’t send work home.
Leilani homeschooled Silas for the final term. The school never contacted his parents to find out why he was not attending.
Leilani made several complaints to the school and the education department to find out what was happening to Silas.
‘[The school] shamed us and our child. And they didn't hesitate to use their lawyers against us.’
Recently, Silas told a therapist about an incident that occurred in year 2. A teacher ‘dragged him along the floor by his underpants’ and the carpet ‘burned his bottom’. His pants were ‘pulled so high they cut into his bottom, and it was really painful, and he was crying’. The teacher locked him in an area with a tiled floor with no water.
Two medical professionals told Leilani that the sensory room has caused Silas psychological harm.
Leilani has made a complaint to police but it is currently on hold pending Silas’s recovery. She does not want Silas to be traumatised further.
After a brief period at another primary school, Leilani enrolled Silas in distance education.
Silas’s confidence has grown and he has demonstrated that he is academically capable. He has successfully completed the full curriculum for years 4 and 5 and is currently undertaking year 6.
Although Silas is excelling academically, Leilani worries he is missing friendships with his peers.
‘He's missed out on all that friendship for three years, four years now. And this didn't need to happen. Sensory rooms should not exist in the way that this was implemented. And no child should be locked down.’
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.