Jed
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Jed is autistic and lives in a regional area.
‘I became very involved with the disability sector because I've got a son with autism,’ Jed told the Royal Commission. ‘So I became more interested in how disability is reflected between government departments and people with a disability.’
After graduating from university, Jed started a postgraduate degree looking at autism in society. He said the university didn’t provide much support.
‘Even though I was, from day one, registered … as a regional person with disability, no-one approached me about what my needs were or approached me about different alternatives and study format. It was just I was on my own.’
Jed said the university didn’t seem to have adequate disability policies and procedures in place when he enrolled.
‘I was given the line [that] it's up to me as a person with disability to tell them how they can best support me.’
Jed struggled to find supervisors with any background in disability. He felt he was writing his thesis to educate his supervisor, who didn’t seem to understand autism. The university told him his slow progress was his fault and that he wasn’t a very good student.
When he finished his thesis, the university gave him a large amount of administration that he struggled to navigate.
‘Probably my expectations may be too high. But it should be, “Okay, well this person's flagged with a disability. Maybe we should sort of give them a hand to help them jump through the last hoop.”’
Jed’s PhD examiners, ‘internationally renowned in the disability sector’, praised his thesis and approved it with no amendments.
He now works in the disability sector.
“Beforehand I was just a bloke with good ideas. “Oh you're this person with autism.” But now I'm a doctor. “Oh you're a doctor.” So people seem to be listening to me now.’
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.