Jason, Mya and Kent
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.
Mya and her husband Jason have Asperger’s syndrome. Kent, Mya’s father, told the Royal Commission that both have ‘severe social disability’ and trouble communicating. He describes them as ‘feeling the whole world is against’ them.
‘Initial friendly contacts turn negative or even hostile.’
Jason and Mya have a son, Ty, who is autistic. His behaviours include ‘head banging, screaming’ and he has ‘minimal verbal communication’.
Kent gave the family ‘as much money as [he] as a pensioner could afford’ to buy a block of land ‘to get out of a rental poverty trap’. They purchased a block near a small mining town and were living in a caravan.
However, the family had to move after ‘incessant council employee pressure’. At first there were complaints about the noise from a small generator. Then, after Jason erected a shed, council workers told him it was too close to the boundary and threatened to bulldoze it. They also repeatedly threatened to remove Ty’s ‘therapy special breed chickens’.
Council workers repeatedly trespassed on their land, scaring Mya and her child. Eventually the family felt compelled to move off their block and camp beside the road in a public reserve. Again they were told to move on as it was ‘council controlled land’.
When Jason questioned whether the land was state land or council land, the council worker advised him they would call police to issue an order for the family to move.
Kent is disappointed the family has moved from their own land. When council workers move the family on, citing various regulations, they have little ‘opportunity to understand their rights or laws they might be violating’.
He believes ‘there needs to be a public helpline for people with disabilities’, someone who can help them ‘understand their rights regarding civil and property laws’.
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.