Freddy and Kayla
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.
Freddy is almost 20 and has an ‘extremely rare’ brain disorder that causes intellectual and physical disability and psychosocial impairment.
Freddy is on the NDIS and has complex needs. He is incontinent and has no ability to care for himself. Kayla says he’s had ‘some pretty rough handling’ from some support workers.
‘One day I went [to his home] and he's sitting in a pool of urine, cowed on the couch. He had two nappies just tied to him. The worker was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. And I just sat down and said “Do you want to come home with mum.”’
A few years ago, Freddy returned to Kayla’s care after living with his father. She lives in a regional area and found it hard to get ‘reliable supports’ through the NDIS.
‘Support workers basically don't want to travel out here … And I had no support.’
Kayla turned to child protection for help.
‘So they took him. They said we’ll give you some rest and we'll get you some supports built up and we'll get you a new plan and we'll get this all sorted and [Freddy] can live with you.’
The department put Freddy in accommodation with a support worker from a disability services provider part of the week.
‘These people … They put him in motel rooms with broken doors and smashed fittings in showers. I'd go there, there would be, you know, plates of food dried, not covered and I'd say, “What, is that what you're feeding my son? What happened to all the veggies from the garden I've bought in?”’
Kayla said the agency staff were poorly trained and ‘didn’t speak English’.
Once, Freddy had a seizure while he was out with a support worker. A stranger rang her and said, ‘If that's your son, he's lying under a car in a carpark … The carer is not coping.’
A couple of years ago the NDIS ‘kicked in’ with all of Freddy’s funding, including specialist disability accommodation ‘to share with one other’.
He is still waiting on the housing and ‘two workers at all times’ outlined in his plan.
‘We’ve got a provider but he's in a private rental now at great risk to himself and others. He put his head through a window last week, picked up the glass and smashed it on his head.’
Freddy is currently on his sixth NDIS plan.
‘That lasts eight weeks. So we have no security … He just needs help to find what's best for him because I haven't been able to. I'm still fighting. There's nowhere to go.’
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.