Mira and Allan
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.
Mira lives with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect.
Her father, Allan, told the Royal Commission that Mira wanted to tell her story about her struggle to go to university.
‘Her comment when discussing the submission was, “They discriminated against me because of the Down syndrome thing and they did not respect me.”’
Allan said that Mira was the first person with Down syndrome to attend her local primary school.
‘[Mira] thrived, making many friends that continue to today.’
When Mira entered junior high school about a decade ago, she flourished in the mainstream classes. She won an award for the best art student in her year.
When she entered senior high school, Allan and Mira made it clear that they wanted to continue ‘an inclusive mainstream educational program’.
‘We were shocked to find that [Mira] had been enrolled into the school’s special education centre.’
Allan said the school gave students with disability no choice.
‘Rather, it was a “holding pattern” where students were taught “life skills” with little focus on post-school options.’
Allan said the education department’s policy was to ‘provide a school setting for students until they met the minimum age for a school leaver’.
‘At no time was [Mira] asked what she wanted to achieve or given the opportunity to determine what she might study, unlike all of her other year 10 peers.’
Allan said Mira became disengaged and angry because the school had removed her control over her education. He persuaded the principal, however, to let Mira continue studying. The principal gave her a restricted curriculum, but she was unable to continue her creative arts program.
‘As we had become weary of fighting for [Mira’s] rights for a meaningful education, we accepted the progress we had achieved.’
At the end of high school, Mira was awarded a modified certificate of education and enrolled in a university visual arts course. Allan applied for a learning support worker to help Mira, but couldn’t get the funding. He said the course instructor ‘had little interest in supporting her’.
‘[Mira] had also become disengaged with the studies due to the poor support provided and the segregation that had occurred within the class environment.’
She switched to a retail course.
‘While her studies took three years to complete, the provision of flexible learning and assessments allowed [Mira] to achieve competency in the Certificate II in Retail.’
Allan said it took advocacy at every step to help Mira achieve her goals.
‘It is very apparent that there is a trend … nationally to deny the rights of all students to an inclusive education and, as a result, employment.’
Allan told the Royal Commission that society would benefit from a more inclusive education system.
‘Such a system is more likely to lead to an inclusive society across the board.’
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.