Jagger

‘My time in the public and private [education] system has left me a bit of wreck.’

Jagger, 20, is autistic and has anxiety, depression and learning difficulties. He currently lives with his parents, but his goal is to live independently.

Jagger told the Royal Commission he was bullied from year 2 until he graduated in year 12. He said teachers didn’t do anything to stop the bullying no matter how much he complained. The teachers and schools always blamed Jagger because of his ‘behaviour’, and didn’t address the bullying. ‘This led me to develop anxiety and depression.’

One time, Jagger had a bad meltdown and banged his head repeatedly against the wall. He suspects he had a concussion, but the teachers and the assistant principal didn’t do anything except send him home. ‘Rather than dealing with the issue, they isolated me.’

In year 10 he invited the whole class to his birthday party and they all accepted. On the day of the party Jagger stood outside waiting, but no-one came. ‘It was a prank.’

Once while getting changed for PE, students shoved Jagger’s underwear and shoes down a toilet. ‘I was crushed,’ he said. The school suggested he change in the storeroom, not with the rest of the class.

Jagger was terrified of catching the school bus because the bullies caught it too. His dad made a complaint to police, who spoke to the bullies’ parents. The parents couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal.

Jagger said the school did not provide any individualised learning or encourage his talents. He was often isolated from the rest of his peers in a cramped ‘learning area’. Jagger’s dad made a complaint to the minister, who referred it back to the school.

Jagger moved to a private school which he hoped would give him more support. But he found it ‘worse’. The school denied requests for support because there wasn’t enough funding or resources. Jagger’s dad had to educate the teachers about autism.

For the last couple of years Jagger went to a different school in the public system. One teacher took an interest in him and ‘shepherded him through most of the problems’.

Despite all the barriers, Jagger graduated. ‘I didn’t think I would do well but somehow I did.’

He approached a disability employment service to help him find a job. They found him a night-fill job at the local grocery store. Jagger had to meet the same quotas as the other employees or the whole team would be penalised. Co-workers bullied Jagger, treating him as the ‘weak link’ in the chain. It reminded him of being at school and ‘really brought back bad memories’.

Jagger often came home from his shifts with bleeding fingers because he was opening the boxes with his hands. The store would not provide him with a knife or any other sharp tool because they didn’t trust him, deeming him ‘high risk’.

Jagger complained to the disability employment service, but they didn’t do anything. His dad advocated on his behalf and forced an investigation. This led to an informal mediation where an in-principle agreement was reached requiring the store to implement various changes. But nothing happened.

Jagger now works at a local mechanic washing cars two days a week. He really enjoys working there.

Jagger is also at university. He said it is doing ‘very well’ and they accommodate his needs.

Jagger would like to move out of home. His NDIS plan includes funding for community engagement and he is trying to find a mentor to help him engage with peers. He needs someone to take him out, take him to the pub ‘to watch a footy game’. But it is hard to find accredited services in the rural area where he lives. He says there is money to spend but no services to spend it on.