Dave and Lori
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.
Dave is in his 20s and uses a wheelchair. He has a cognitive disability and can’t talk. He communicates through eye movement using speech-generating technology.
‘I cannot talk, but I can understand what you say,’ Dave told the Royal Commission. ‘Give me time to understand and to answer.’
Recently, Dave had a bad experience at hospital.
‘I had a sore tummy and back. It was making me vomit … The doctors and nurses didn’t ask me what was wrong, they only spoke to my support team and my mum.’
The medical staff gave Dave injections without explaining what they were for.
‘They put a needle in my foot and it hurt a lot. It made me feel scared, hurt, frustrated, angry, sad. I didn’t feel safe and I didn’t know what was happening to me.’
Dave’s support worker, Lori, helped him share his story with the Royal Commission. Lori explained that when an ambulance takes Dave to hospital, he has to leave his wheelchair and technology behind, ‘so he would often not be able to physically operate the eye gaze system’.
‘As soon as he’s feeling a bit better, someone in the family brings it to the hospital and they set it up by the bed,’ said Lori, ‘and as soon as you start using it, the medics start going, “Oh!”’
Dave said the challenge is explaining to doctors and nurses how to communicate with him, even when he has the technology with him.
‘I told them I can’t speak, but I understand what you say.’
Dave said he needs the hospital staff to speak to him directly, not his mum or support worker. ‘Ask what communication needs I have and ask me what is wrong and what is happening.’
When staff explain things directly to him, it makes him ‘feel happy, not scared’.
Dave showed the Royal Commission the communication poster he uses to explain to staff how to communicate with him.
‘This made it a good experience, as the doctor and staff spoke to me directly. They asked me the questions.’
Lori said the poster, and a smaller version in book form, includes a summary of things that matter to Dave.
‘But not everyone reads it, hey. This book is often kept in [Dave’s] room or on your bed, to inform any new staff who are caring for [Dave], but staff don’t always have a look at it. That’s the reason we have the poster as well. It’s shorter, brighter, and [we] hope that sometimes if they read nothing else, at least they read that.’
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.