Mylan and Lya
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.
Mylan, early primary school, is autistic and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He lives in regional Australia.
‘The process of getting my son some support through the NDIS, getting an occupational therapist and a speech therapist, was quite a long process,’ his mum Lya told the Royal Commission. ‘It's not easy to do when you’re so remote.’
A few months before Mylan was due to start school, he received his formal diagnosis.
Lya immediately contacted the principal and gave him the assessments.
‘His basic response was, “Aspie kids are cool. I've dealt with many over the years.”’
Slightly concerned by his comment, Lya provided additional sensory materials and resources. She followed up with detailed transition documents prepared by the kindergarten teacher and Mylan’s therapists.
‘I felt that they treated me as if I was just an overactive parent and it was just dismissed.’
On the first day, Lya discovered the teacher and teacher aide hadn’t read any of the transition documents.
‘It just went very bad very quickly.’
Mylan started having meltdowns and running away.
‘It was sensory overload. He wasn't coping … There's plenty of preparation that they could have done but they neglected to do that.’
At the end of week two, the school moved Mylan to a storeroom, away from the teacher and his peers.
‘That's where he stayed for two terms,’ Lya said.
‘They just didn't know how to support him and it was easier for them to alienate him and segregate him rather than be proactive and get some resources and get some assistance.’
The storeroom wasn’t heated and Mylan had to wear several jumpers and a jacket to stay warm.
In the playground, older students started bullying him. They called him names, teased him and would jump out and frighten him. When he reacted, they would take his photo, photoshop it and pass it around.
‘It's just mindboggling how it can even happen in this day and age.’
The school started documenting Mylan’s behaviours and ‘tried to pin him as a badly-behaved child’.
Mylan was traumatised and couldn’t cope.
His speech therapist and occupational therapist intervened. They worked with the teacher and provided games and resources to help Mylan integrate with his peers. The teacher acknowledged the resources were useful, but rarely used them.
In term 4 a new teacher started and moved Mylan back to the classroom.
‘She's been brilliant in making really good adjustments and seeking further outside information.’
She stayed on as his teacher the following year, and ‘a brilliant’ new teacher aide started.
‘He's a very intelligent boy and that just reflects the importance of having those people there who can support and who can make adjustments. A child with disability can actually be within a mainstream school, not a specialised school. He's doing really well, which I'm happy about.’
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.