Bea and Addy
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.
When Bea was an infant, Addy knew there was ‘something different with her’.
‘She has sensory issues … Very highly intelligent. But her outbursts when they happen could be extreme.’
Initially Bea was diagnosed with persistent defiant disorder, and then a couple of months ago she was diagnosed with autism.
Addy has been trying to get the school to support Bea for many years.
‘The school have continuously said, “Yes, she can have social issues, however she's at the top of the class so there’s nothing wrong.”’
About a year ago, another student started to target Bea and bully her physically and verbally. The school pulled him up numerous times but the bullying didn’t stop. The boy’s parents didn’t think their son was doing anything wrong.
‘They’ve taken retribution against us by trying to exclude us in the community.’
Bea became more anxious and Addy struggled to get her to school.
‘She started having anxiety attacks when she went to school, she's never had them in her life before.’
This year, two other students started hitting Bea when she tried to walk away from them. She came home with punch marks on her back.
‘The school didn’t necessarily handle it in a very proactive way … We had to medicate Amelia because of her anxiety … It’s quite confronting having to put your very independent [child] on benzodiazepines because she can’t function or go into a situation in a place where she’s loved before.’
Addy reported the incident to police, who interviewed all the students in her year. The principal reported they were ‘absolutely horrified from the things that they heard’, namely that many students in Bea’s class ‘pick on her’ because of her disability.
Since then things have started to improve. There’s been ‘a real push’ for her classmates and the school more broadly to understand that ‘not all disabilities are visual and they can be debilitating’.
Bea’s teachers are starting to notice she has ‘amazing workarounds’ to cope with her disability in class.
‘Focus on one task at a time. She will make sure that she finishes that task first, be ready before everybody else, watching the next child start the task.’
The school is starting to provide more support.
‘It’s proved invaluable for children like [Bea] who are struggling in that situation that now we’re being seen and given the supports that she needs.’
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.