Arturo and Christie
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.
Arturo, mid-teens, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), encopresis, sensory processing disorder and metabolic disorders.
He has attended multiple schools.
‘[Arturo] has been subjected to exclusions, isolation, restraint … rolling suspensions, being reported to the police,’ his mum Christie told the Royal Commission.
Arturo’s first primary school was unsuitable – it was big, open-planned and very chaotic.
His second school had very little understanding of ADHD.
‘They were treated as wilful and defiant children … It’s just a punishment framework rather than a disability or a therapeutic framework … I think the general approach is just keep punishing them, keep suspending them until they and/or their parents give up.’
When Arturo was eight, a teacher called him a sociopath.
Later that year, he threw a toy at a teacher.
‘The teacher made a police report and said [Arturo] used a weapon. They locked him out of the school and they filmed him on their personal mobile phones. He ran away … Luckily, the policeman who arrived had an autistic child and was able to provide him with some comfort.’
Arturo started to experience suicidal ideation and told Christie the world would be better off without him.
Christie asked the education department to recommend a suitable school that understood his disability and would support him.
Christie, an allied health professional, shared all her resources with the new school. She did one-on-one sessions with the education support staff and helped the school develop disability support plans for all children with disability.
But Christie soon discovered teachers were regularly removing Arturo from class.
‘He pretty much didn’t go to most classes – they had him playing Lego in the photocopy room. They had no independent learning plan for him … They refused to follow the support plans.’
Rolling suspensions started.
Christie made a formal complaint, first to the school and then to the education department.
‘Every piece of advocacy that I did from that point on, actually turned out worse for my son, not better.’
The school increased the frequency and duration of Arturo’s suspensions.
‘That kind of behaviour is just to break a child’s will and the parent’s resolve.’
Lawyers started responding to all Christie’s emails.
Christie made a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on the basis the school was in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.
She discovered numerous different lawyers were involved in drafting correspondence from the school.
Christie said the AHRC has no power. It took 18 months for the department to action a request to involve a certified behavioural analyst, and a year of requests and appeals to get Arturo’s school records.
The school ignored the analyst’s urgent recommendations.
The analyst advised Christie to remove Arturo from the school.
‘The teachers have developed such a level of animosity towards him he’s at risk. He’s not been treated with any kind of dignity and all [the analyst] can see is a further deterioration in his behaviours.’
Christie tried to get the AHRC to intervene.
‘It's a really impossible piece of legislation for parents … it’s the kind of default pathway that you go through.’
The matter moved to the Federal Court.
The department used top tier law firms and barristers. Christie represented herself.
‘They fight a very aggressive campaign. They do not contribute to mediation with any kind of goodwill. They do not follow their model litigant obligations. And they spend millions of taxpayer money on fighting parents.’
After several years, the department settled and paid compensation.
Now Arturo ‘doesn’t trust any kind of authority figure’ and is barely hanging on in high school.
‘He believes that he is an idiot. He believes that he’s not smart. He believes that he’s a bad person … He’s going to need a lot of therapy.’
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.