Lyndon
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Lyndon is in his 40s and lives with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder.
Lyndon said doctors told his parents he had ‘minimal cerebral dysfunction’ before he started school.
‘Never in a million years did it ever occur to me that minimal cerebral dysfunction is ADHD.’
Lyndon said because his disorder wasn’t described as ADHD, he received no help at school.
‘I had it beaten into me that my behaviour was wrong, that I was wrong, that I was naughty, obtuse. I was told that I was the “naughtiest little boy” that a particular teacher had ever met, when I moved to a new school. My nickname was “fuckhead” in primary school.’
Several years ago, before his ADHD diagnosis and after a series of personal crises, Lyndon experienced ‘what you'd describe as a psychotic breakdown’. He lost his job and his marriage.
‘The life of fatigue and always struggling, and never understanding why, and I snapped. I just snapped. I just, I couldn't do it anymore.’
One day, he saw a description on the internet of people experiencing certain mental health symptoms.
‘And when I realised it was adult ADHD, it just blew my mind. It was nothing like I'd ever considered.’
Lyndon received an ADHD diagnosis at a public hospital.
‘They have one thing they will do, which is a confirmatory diagnosis. And then you're on your own … They provide a list of bulk-billing psychiatrists and they follow that statement with a, “You can try these, but I do know that they don't bulk-bill for ADHD patients, and in fact will often charge more.”’
Lyndon, whose only income now is a Centrelink JobSeeker payment, also needs medication to control the inflammation from Hashimoto's disease.
‘I receive $680 a fortnight. I pay $500 a fortnight rent. Just one of my medications – because I have to get three medications types privately, otherwise I can't get them at all – just one of them is $120 a fortnight. Another is $40 and another is $20. You know, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out the maths. I've been going backwards for a very long time.’
When Lyndon recently became homeless, friends helped him find temporary accommodation. He said ADHD means he struggles to understand time, ‘to understand the steps that it takes to get up from an alarm clock, get out of bed, brush your teeth, get your coffee made … Things that are automatic to neurotypical brains don't exist in my mind.’
Lyndon said he tried and failed to access the NDIS.
‘The irony is that … there's a time limit [to supply documents], which I wasn't made aware of … Realistically, I need to access some serious high-end specialists if I'm going to get back any kind of quality of life.’
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.