Coby and Baillie
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.
Coby is in high school and has a genetic condition that causes developmental delays.
‘He’s curious, delightful,’ his mum Baillie told the Royal Commission. ‘His really good memory is for all the facts and figures to do with AFL, like, absolutely obsessed.’
Baillie wanted Coby to have an inclusive education at a private school, but struggled to find a school that would take him.
She eventually enrolled him in an independent primary school that focussed on creativity.
‘You weren’t allowed to do sport at the school. And then he taught himself to read through reading, at the time, rugby magazines.’
Baillie said his teacher believed Coby was ‘reading too early’.
‘Then she’s like, “You can’t bring in your rugby magazines, I don’t believe in sport.”’
The teacher made Coby sit outside the classroom during some lessons because she thought they would be ‘too hard for him’.
‘I felt like that became, like, bullying by the teacher and then obviously the kids pick up on that.’
The school also rejected an occupational therapist’s lists of recommendations to help Coby at school.
Baillie and her husband withdrew Coby from the school and tried to find another.
‘As soon as you give them a diagnosis they’re like, “You know I think you should try somewhere else. We can’t cater to you, we don’t have supports.”’
To enrol Coby in a high school that would accept him, Baillie and her husband moved to another state.
‘I feel like we should have choice, a choice in a value of a place to go to. Like, you choose where you want to live or work or be in life, and it would be nice to have a choice for my child to be among people that I agree with their values, or whatever I choose for my child.’
Baillie said although she wanted Coby to go to a private school, the public school system in the new state was more inclusive.
‘The kids are very sporty and they’re just more easy going and it's just a different culture, I guess, so that’s good for my son … The support staff there and the head of assisted learning are incredible, so I just want to give a shout out to them.’
Coby is also playing in a local AFL team.
‘They’ve just been so kind and supportive and getting him out there playing. And the AFL is very, very inclusive I must say as an organisation. Unbelievable … they have the inclusion team and then the other team, but [Coby’s] been in the team with all the kids.’
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.