Kolton

‘I did not understand the way my mind worked.’

Kolton is in his 40s. He is deaf and autistic, and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

‘I was kind of in my own world,’ he told the Royal Commission.

At three, Kolton’s mother took him to the city for intensive speech therapy. They stayed in a hotel and he spent some time in the hotel’s childcare facility. A man led Kolton away from the facility and sexually abused him. Kolton attributes his ‘hypersexuality’ to the abuse. ‘I believe that has made my life difficult for me in some parts and led me to some confusion.’

In primary school, Kolton was adventurous and began running away from home. He caused his parents ‘a lot of grief and frustration’ because of his ‘behavioural problems’. He said he lacked empathy, didn’t understand people and thought people’s personal property ‘didn’t matter’.

One time, when he was about seven, a teacher found Kolton with his hand in her bag. To teach him a lesson she told him to put his hand back in the bag. He did and she slapped his hand. He quickly pulled it out and the teacher told him to put it back and she slapped him again. She made him do this repeatedly, but all it did was confuse him.

Because of Kolton’s ‘out of control’ behaviour he was prescribed different medications. He experienced some debilitating side effects and he felt ‘more out of control’. He couldn’t think clearly.

At 16 he was admitted to a psychiatric unit. After he was released he left home and stopped taking medication.

Kolton’s said he’s ‘very, very frustrated’ and ‘disappointed’ by how he’s been treated in the workplace. He’s been underpaid, called names and unfairly blamed.

One time Kolton was working at a sawmill. A group of workers were playing cricket. ‘I wanted to try and be involved and join in’ so threw a small piece of wood, like a ball, at the bat and went back to work. The next day he was fired because the others told the boss he started the game. ‘I had no opportunity to explain what was going on which was very disappointing for me.’

Kolton’s mental health deteriorated and he started using alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs. He described his approach to life as naive and feels people took advantage of him. A friend encouraged him to break into an animal surgery and steal drugs and after that his drug addiction ‘started spiralling down’.

Kolton was often in trouble with police and went to prison several times for about a month each time. One time, he was placed in the protection unit ‘but even there, people with disabilities were not cared for,’ Kolton said. The ‘influence there is not very healthy’ and he ‘suffered a lot of abuse’. He was pulled down, out of sight, in the laundry room and raped. Prisoners ‘put things up [his] backside’, and just before he was released they held him down and shaved his eyebrows.

Kolton said prison officers sometimes saw what was going on but did nothing to protect him. Other prisoners tied him to a fence with socks and stripped him naked – officers watched. One time, officers deliberately locked him in a room with another prisoner who raped him. ‘I was afraid to call for help because I didn’t know what the repercussions would be.’

When he was released from prison Kolton made a complaint, but nothing was done. The prison system needs to be ‘fixed for people with disability,’ he said. ‘I have no idea what other people have suffered.’

About five years ago Kolton was watching a movie. It ‘sort of broke me’ and ‘I realised I needed to get my act together’. He stopped smoking, drinking and taking drugs. ‘I broke free and I’ve never gone back since.’