Sharlene and Ebony
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.
Sharlene was in her 50s when she died. She was autistic and lived with drug-induced Parkinson’s disease.
‘She was a victim of years of polypharmacy. In other words, prescription drug abuse, taking up to 14 medications at a time,’ her cousin Ebony told the Royal Commission. ‘She was dizzy, but it wasn’t from her disability dysfunction that her mother tried to claim was still a problem so as to keep her drugged.’
When Sharlene was a baby, her parents took her to hospital because she ‘didn’t crawl or walk or smile’.
‘Her motoric skills were delayed, but following the age of two there was no follow-up through [the hospital], which allowed her mother to conceal [Sharlene’s] special needs.’
Ebony said Sharlene’s mother found a doctor who ‘would write out all the scripts that she demanded’.
‘[Sharlene’s parents] didn’t provide a hygienic home for her. They didn’t provide any social stimulations for her.’
When doctors admitted Sharlene to hospital over the years, ‘there was no outpatient clinic follow-up in the mental health system’.
‘It’s left to the GPs to do this. The GPs can’t do it usually and the patient and the patient’s families themselves are not reliable enough to present for a 12-month review.’
Ebony said that, as a result, Sharlene never received the treatment that could have helped her.
‘Had there been follow-up through the public health system … or if one particular local clinic had been given the responsibility to review her, then she could have at least received counselling to help her understand herself, which she totally missed out on. And [her mother] wouldn’t have gotten away with creating her syndrome.’
About 10 years ago Sharlene ‘lost her mobility almost entirely’. Because her parents were about to move into a nursing home, they appointed Ebony as Sharlene’s guardian. That’s when Ebony discovered Sharlene’s history of over-medication.
‘I was the one who eventually went through her medications and got her admitted to hospital to be weaned off them. She got her mobility back with gusto, and all the aggression that goes with it.’
Ebony struggled to find accommodation for Sharlene. After a nursing home expelled Sharlene for assaulting staff, she lived in a hospital psychiatric unit until a room was found in an ‘autism small group home’.
‘It took far too long to get her in there … [Sharlene] has since passed away, but the reason I’m telling the story is I believe that she could have had a better life.’
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.