Nadia
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.
Nadia is deaf and dyslexic and has an acquired physical disability. She also cares for her mother, who is unwell. She’s currently doing a graduate diploma of counselling so she can help deaf people, and she’s learning Auslan.
Nadia told the Royal Commission that government agencies abuse people with disabilities.
‘These people think they know better than medical practitioners, audiologists and specialists even though they are not qualified.’
She told us that in her meeting with the NDIA they ‘tried to bully’ her into having an interpreter, even though she is only in the process of learning Auslan. ‘They know I can’t sign,’ she said.
‘They are also trying to bully me into having hearing aids that don’t suit my needs even though they are aware that they will give me panic attacks.’
Nadia is unable to properly function without suitable aids. ‘I can’t hear. I can’t make phone calls for medical appointments for my mother or phone for urgent medical assistance. I can’t hear my teachers in class. I can’t communicate as my family are all hearing, and I also don’t sign, so I have no-one I can communicate with … I am missing out on communication in all aspects of my life due to NDIS.’
‘Not being able to communicate with people isolates me, and I feel extremely lonely.’
Nadia told us she would like to see ‘properly run government organisations with properly qualified people … for the government to employ disabled people that are relevant to the people that they are supposed to be helping ... for example deaf people employed to help deaf clients’.
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.