Annabel

‘Apparently I stick out like a sore thumb. Like, everyone knows that I’m different.’

Annabel, early 40s, told the Royal Commission she ‘shifted around schools a bit’ and was bullied and treated poorly in every school she attended.

Despite Annabel’s difficulty with reading, writing, ‘sitting still’ and concentrating, doctors didn’t diagnose her with a disability until year 5. Initially doctors incorrectly diagnosed her with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Later, she was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, a short-term memory issue, learning difficulties and depression. She was also diagnosed with stigmatism and long and short sightedness and needed glasses.

Annabel said she’s ‘quite angry’ she didn’t get ‘the initial help that she needed’. Schools treated her the same as all the other students. She found writing painful and difficult. ‘A note taker would have at least been good so I could focus on what the teacher was saying.’

At the time, Annabel believes, the schools were better at supporting students with physical disability.

The bullying in high school became worse. ‘It was terrible … it really ramped up.’ One student deliberately tried to push her down a flight of stairs. The school did nothing.

Her mother moved her to a different school. Nothing changed.

‘I was called retard a lot,’ Annabel said. Students threw things at her but, when she complained, the most the schools did was give the bullies ‘a talking to’. ‘I think that’s completely unacceptable.’

Annabel’s tics increased because of the way she was treated, and the school gave her detention.

Neither high school she attended provided any supports. ‘No note taking, no nothing … which didn’t help at all.’ Annabel felt ‘like a number’. The schools provided no adjustments and she got ‘snowed in with work requirements’.

Annabel left school at year 10. Most of the teachers told her going any further was ‘a complete waste of time’.

At TAFE, Annabel did an office administration course. TAFE provided some note taking support, but she was already so far behind because of her poor schooling she wasn’t able to fully engage.

After completing the course, Annabel tried to find a job. She volunteered at a ‘sheltered workshop’ but it didn’t lead to job. She went to an employment agency who told her there ‘wasn’t any jobs for disabled people’ in the regional city where she lived. Annabel has been on the Disability Support Pension since leaving school. She said her lack of schooling has significantly limited her life choices.

Annabel receives NDIS support. She initially found it difficult to register and thinks this might be because she has a neurological disability rather than a physical one. She has had at least three plans in four years. Each plan has had varying levels of support, without any rationale for the discrepancies. For example, the NDIS approved transport funding in her first plan, but not in her second.

Annabel finds it challenging to live on the Disability Support Pension. The $1,100 she receives fortnightly needs to cover rent, food, bills and other life costs. She said she is constantly living in a world of ‘not enough’, and it is always a ‘struggle to make ends meet’.

‘If I’d had more support at school and paid employment I wouldn’t have to rely so heavily on mum … it’s had a huge impact on my life really.’