Curtis
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.
Curtis is in his 40s. When he was in primary school, a car hit him. Curtis now lives with brain damage, hearing loss and some loss of sight.
‘As a person with a disability growing up, life was always more difficult,’ Curtis told the Royal Commission.
After the car accident, when Curtis returned to school, some classmates bullied him.
‘When I was in primary school, I was peed on.’
He transferred to a special school where the abuse stopped, but he was ‘still under the hierarchy of the kids’.
Curtis tried to head off abuse by educating other students. When he started high school, he stood in front of the school assembly and told them about himself and his disability.
Curtis said it worked. Rather than treating him as ‘that ugly guy over there’, students began to talk to him.
But when he moved to another high school, he was bullied again and kept to himself.
‘I kind of think of it as a dreadful nightmare, now I look at it.’
Until a few years ago, Curtis was his mother’s main carer.
‘I had to be a nurse for about four of those years. The last year, I had to shower her … It just broke my heart having to do that for her.’
After his mother died, Curtis moved in with relatives. He got a job for a short time, but when he accidentally cut himself ‘just a little’, his boss told Curtis he was a ‘liability’ and didn’t want him working there.
‘People without disabilities, they go to work, they cut themselves, they’re still at the same job.’
Curtis is reluctant to look for another job. He’s now involved in community groups and enjoys acting, music and dancing classes.
His NDIS plan doesn’t cover all the costs of his classes. Instead, it covers things he didn’t ask for, such as ‘more help with walking’.
Curtis said he experiences discrimination when he walks down to the shops.
‘I have been told by people, “I don’t understand. Wait while I get my supervisor”. That’s in shops … I have heard people talk about me, calling me spastic.’
Curtis is now an advocate for people living with disability.
‘I believe to move on we need better education.’
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.