Caitlyn
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.
Caitlyn is Deaf. She is in her 50s and has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She went to a Deaf school, but later studied for a degree without an interpreter.
‘Now we've got much better access,’ Caitlyn told the Royal Commission. ‘The old days, you know what it was like, we just struggled through.’
About a decade ago when she was pregnant, Caitlyn’s employer retrenched her. She found another job coaching Auslan interpreters in schools.
‘I have always been very interested in language and the linguistics of our sign language and to be able to support young people in their education. We had Deaf teachers teaching [and] so I thought this will be great.’
Caitlyn said the education department training was ‘really good’.
‘This is about me being a language model for the young kids so they can develop Auslan and so when I [started work at a school] the teachers were like, “No that's not your job. We're the teachers. We run the show here.”’
Caitlyn said many of the interpreters employed by the school weren’t Deaf and resented her help.
‘Sometimes the interpreters would really push back and go, “Well you don't have to tell me how to sign.”’
She said when she tried to advocate for students who complained about the quality of interpreting, she was told not to talk to the interpreters.
‘I said this is my job. I'm here to provide a language model for the interpreters as well as the students.’
Caitlyn said one day she was reprimanded for suggesting staff use Auslan at school and not signed English.
‘[The education department] eliminated the use of signed English in schools … they're the rules. And so when I brought this up, you know, everyone's head kind of spun.’
Caitlyn said although she was doing the job she was employed to do, the interpreters called a meeting to complain.
‘Everyone else's perspectives were taken into account [at the meeting], and as the Deaf person in the room no-one would listen to me.’
Caitlyn took sick leave and a doctor later diagnosed PTSD.
‘I just completely had a breakdown. I'd get in bed and I'd stay there. I couldn’t do anything. I became a bit of a shell of myself.’
Caitlyn told the Royal Commission there’s a disconnect between education department policy for teaching Deaf students and how some schools apply it.
‘They have these huge conflicts in these regions where things are done differently.’
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.