Albie
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.
Albie is in his 50s. He is Deaf and lives with depression. He receives a Disability Support Pension and NDIS funding.
There were no resources or supports for Deaf people in Albie’s small town when he was growing up. The school made no adjustments for his deafness and his education suffered.
‘I had no interpreter or captioner – nothing.’
Other students bullied Albie because of the way he spoke and his poor academic performance. He left school early, with few options.
‘Maybe I was 15, 16 and do all the different back-breaking jobs, low pay. Like gathering, labouring, truck driving job, farm work, all difficult.’
Albie experienced a lot of discrimination throughout his working life. He described a pattern of negative interactions, beginning with his bosses or co-workers being angry when he didn’t understand something.
‘When they get angry, I get angry, the next person get more angry. It will become, like, escalate – escalate bigger, bigger, bigger and bigger. And the only way to stop … I always pulled out, back off, always back off or quit the job and find another one again.’
Albie never felt at home in what was often a rough workplace culture, and doesn’t feel capable of hard physical work anymore.
‘Getting tired, had enough,’ he said.
So far he has not had success in finding different kinds of jobs. He finds disability employment services frustrating. The providers are not trained to work with Deaf people, he said, and do not have interpreting services. And because his deafness is not a visible disability, people think he has ‘something wrong in [his] head’.
Albie has had similar difficulties with the NDIA, whose staff regularly try to contact him on the phone.
He described his situation as one where ‘a problem layers one on top of another, on top of another, top of another problem’.
‘My future is not looking good. I’m stuck,’ he said.
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.