Orlagh

Orlagh, early-20s, is autistic, deafblind and has Tourette syndrome.

She told the Royal Commission she attended about 10 schools and all of her experiences were negative.

Students bullied her relentlessly in primary school, calling her weird because she wore thick glasses and acted differently.

‘No matter how much I went to the teachers, I was always blamed for it … I was always in the wrong, no matter what I did.’

One teacher forced Orlagh to sit with the students who were bullying her and ‘make friends’. They continued to bully and embarrass her and the teacher did nothing.

One time, Orlagh put her hand on a spider and it bit her. She got into trouble for touching the spider, even though she couldn’t see it.

The bullying and name calling continued in high school.

Orlagh’s vision was deteriorating and she couldn’t see the board. She asked to move to the front but most teachers refused, citing the seating plan.

Even at the front, Orlagh struggled to read the board because of the glare and small writing. One teacher told Orlagh to go home if she couldn’t read the board.

Orlagh stood up for herself, telling the teacher it was her job to make the lesson accessible.

‘As soon as I spoke up … and I voiced what was happening to me, I was immediately left out and I was discriminated against.’ 

One time, Orlagh had to pick up some paperwork after school.

The deputy principal told her to get off the school grounds or she would call police.

When Orlagh explained why she was there, the deputy escorted her to the office and off the grounds.

Orlagh said every school she attended had multiple sets of stairs, no lifts and almost no ramps.

‘They have no identification on poles and things. There were multiple times when I walked into poles because I hadn't seen them. And I was told to “Just look out for them.” And I'm like, “I'll give that a go, but I can't see.”’

Teachers started to convince Orlagh’s parents that she was the problem.

‘It got to a point where I believed that I was actually the problem, and I stopped speaking altogether. I no longer talked in class. I didn't have any friends to talk to. Any opportunity I could, I would take the day off school, or I'd not go to a certain class and I'd sit in the bathroom.’

Following school, Orlagh attended TAFE.

One morning she woke up and couldn’t see anything – she was blind.

Orlagh contacted the vision department and they put in place all the adjustments she needed.

‘The students were absolutely amazing to me, helping me out. But the teachers bullied me constantly.’

One teacher refused to implement the adjustments because she didn’t believe Orlagh needed them.

Instead, she would take Orlagh out of class and make her blow the materials up to an A3 size on the printer, which Orlagh still couldn’t see.

‘I wasn't learning anything, because I couldn't do my work.’

In the breaks, Orlagh’s friends started reading everything to her and helping her with her work.

She made a complaint to the vision department and they gave her a reader writer. But the teacher didn’t like the reader writer being in the class and would yell at them both to be quiet.

‘She was actively belittling me in class and making fun of me.’

Orlagh made a complaint to the department head but nothing happened.

With the help of the vision department and her friends, Orlagh completed the course and did very well.

The department accused her of cheating because she had the reader writer.

‘That was the first time I actively saw myself as disabled. From then on, I knew that I was not in a world that was accessible. And I knew that I'd have to learn to advocate for myself.’

Orlagh moved to a different TAFE campus and completed the course.