Frederick and Jeremiah
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.
In the first week of his first year at primary school, Frederick was assaulted so badly by another student that he was concussed and later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Frederick has speech apraxia, which makes it difficult for him to speak, and hip dysplasia, which can make it painful for him to sit. He also has some incontinence. His father, Jeremiah, told the Royal Commission that Frederick’s public school and the education department failed to provide adequate support for his son’s disabilities.
After the assault, Jeremiah asked the school to provide a safety plan for Frederick and to move him to another class.
‘The school failed to facilitate these basic requests. During this time, [Frederick] was unable to attend school as he was frightened.’
Frederick was moved to another class only after two formal complaints to the education department.
‘We should not have had to make such a threat, and the fact that we had to do so is extremely stressful,’ said Jeremiah.
‘In response, the school placed us on communications restrictions. They adopted a hostile position, and criticised me on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, this severely damaged the relationship between us and the school.’
Jeremiah said the school initially would not let Frederick use its separate special toilet, despite the recommendations in his hospital continence plan. The school allowed access to the special toilet more than six months later, after Jeremiah made two complaints.
Frederick’s painful hip dysplasia prevented him from sitting cross‐legged on the floor with his peers. Jeremiah asked for a special stool for his son to sit on.
‘No action was taken. We made a follow up request months later. The school then required us to obtain medical recommendations before they would take action. We obtained the medical recommendations and submitted them to the school. Still, after all this and at our own expense, the school has failed to implement this reasonable adjustment.’
After Jeremiah told the school it was failing in its duty of care for Frederick, it responded by placing Frederick on a behavioural management plan.
‘We viewed this unequivocally as a means of deflecting attention away from their failure to provide him the support he needed and meet their duty of care,’ said Jeremiah.
The school also told Jeremiah his family’s contact with the school would be restricted to ‘a meeting once per term’ and emails for non-urgent issues.
‘Parents such as ourselves should not have to endlessly advocate and then suffer victimisation to try and protect the welfare of a child … To have such stringent restrictions placed on our ability to communicate with the school is incredibly disconcerting.’
School staff told Jeremiah the education department’s strict funding criteria meant that Frederick was not been eligible for some of the support he needed.
He said he would like schools to receive the funding necessary to support all children with disabilities.
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.