Mika and Rhona
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.
Mika is in her 20s and has Tourette syndrome.
‘She’s got complex [post-traumatic stress disorder] PTSD and anxiety as a result of how she’s been treated,’ her mum Rhona told the Royal Commission. ‘Tourette’s is a neurological disability … and one would expect and hope that medical professionals, even if it wasn’t their area of expertise, would attempt to understand and would put effort into making sure somebody who has stated they have a disability feels safe.’
Doctors diagnosed Mika’s condition, which includes inappropriate language and tics, when she was in primary school. Rhona said she explained Tourette syndrome to Mika’s high school when she enrolled her.
‘They said all the right things … and by second term she was suicidal. We had the counsellor at school decide that [Mika] didn’t have Tourette’s, she had an abusive family.’
Staff told Mika she’d ‘end up in jail’ and would ‘make nothing of her life’.
‘I ended up taking her out of the school. She was on suicide watch for six months.’
With Mika’s tics escalating, Rhona took her to a psychiatrist who told her she needed to get her daughter ‘under control’ or she’d be in trouble with the police.
‘My response to her was, “That’s why I’m reaching out to you as a specialist. What can we do?” And she ended up saying, “I don’t know anything about Tourette’s. I can’t help you.”’
Rhona said some doctors refuse to see Mika because of her outbursts of swearing. One day, Mika started swearing in a medical waiting room and someone called the police.
‘She was talking, the swear words were coming in between. She’s like, “I have Tourette’s. I can’t help it.”’
Rhona said the police startled Mika when they turned up and her behaviour became worse.
‘They put her down on the ground while she was screaming “I want my mummy. Please call my mum.” And they put handcuffs on her.’
Rhona said the police took her to a hospital mental health unit which refused to accept her because she didn’t have a mental illness.
‘The head of the mental health ward was trying to explain to the police what Tourette’s was, and the best they could come to was it was a misunderstanding.’
Rhona said Mika, despite wearing a medical bracelet, has since had several violent interactions with police.
‘You know if she has a Tourette’s attack somewhere which results in her screaming and running around I’m concerned they’re going to shoot her.’
Rhona said Mika’s condition appears to be getting worse partly due to stress.
‘She’s going through a phase of grieving at the moment … [saying], “This is my life and what life do I have? And, you know, all my friends are getting married and having babies and doing all the things that I’ve been wanting to do. And here I am just trying to figure out 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.