Tay
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.
Tay, mid-20s, has physical disability, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and a blood circulation disorder.
A few years ago, Tay enrolled in a course at TAFE.
Tay told the Royal Commission that their teacher set up a message group excluding them. The teacher would post changes to class times and organise class lunches without telling Tay.
When Tay damaged their back, the disability officer assisted Tay access assistive equipment, including a specific chair.
But the teacher encouraged other students to sit in Tay’s chair, telling Tay ‘to get over it’ if Tay complained.
‘She just thought it was funny. And then she'd say to me, “Oh, you're so weird, aren't you? You're not a people-person, are you?” or just laugh at things I would do or say.’
The teacher told Tay they did not fit in the class.
‘All this made me get really anxious.’
The disability officer organised an app for Tay to use in class to help with their anxiety.
‘Everyone was just really mad that I got to go on my phone and no-one else could. They all just started complaining saying there shouldn't be a rule just for me and it wasn't fair.’
The class requested a meeting with the department head to ‘air their grievances’, scheduling the meeting on a day the disability officer didn’t work.
Tay had no support.
‘[Everyone] all just saying they don't like me and it's unfair and I don't fit in. It was an hour-long meeting.’
Tay decided to stop talking in class and relinquished their accommodations.
‘It was kind of okay after that because I wasn't saying anything, and then they weren't bullying me anymore. They were just ignoring me.’
Tay was one of a handful of people who completed the course, and went on to enrol in a related course at a different TAFE campus. In the prerequisite interview, Tay let the teacher know they had a disability.
‘She said, “Oh, the class is difficult. You're not going to be able to keep up,” even though I hadn't even told her what my disability was.’
Tay made a complaint to the state equal opportunity authority.
When the TAFE found out about the complaint, they agreed Tay could enrol in their chosen course.
The teacher tried to move Tay to a disability course.
Tay discovered the course didn’t teach anything and was more like ‘day care for disabled people’. Most people had intellectual disability and had done the same course six times.
‘The people in those courses don't have anything in common apart from being disabled … Let them do something they’re interested in.’
Tay insisted on doing the course they had enrolled in.
On the first day the teacher told Tay she wouldn’t provide reasonable adjustments.
‘She was just really cruel to me. She just didn't like me. She would walk up to a group of people chatting with me and she'd be like, “[Tay] you're the worst in the class. You're the slowest in the class.”’
When Tay required time off because of their health, the teacher gave them additional work on top of the work they had missed.
‘If I did anything slightly wrong she would just yell at me.’
After six weeks, Tay left the class.
The disability officer helped Tay apply for the Disability Support Pension and NDIS support.
Tay appreciates the support, but would like a career.
‘I’m an adult and I’m on a pension.’
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.