Win and Lenah
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.
Win was diagnosed as autistic a few years before he started school.
He accessed services and supports and his behaviour settled.
Primary school brought new challenges, his mother Lenah told the Royal Commission, and Win struggled to cope.
The school responded by excluding, restraining and suspending him.
Lenah sought medical help and Win was further diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He accessed additional services and supports and his behaviour improved.
In the middle of primary school, one of Win’s siblings died.
He began having ‘more issues’, Lenah said, and the school suspended him ‘over and over’.
She requested an NDIS plan review so Win could access additional support.
‘This review resulted in them removing all psychology funding from [Win], saying that his issues were all grief related now.’
Lenah spent the next 12 months successfully challenging the decision.
Meanwhile, she privately engaged a psychiatrist and a behaviour support specialist to help Win.
But the school refused to allow the specialists to attend the school.
‘I felt the school begin to disengage and go from "helping" to part of the problem.’
The school began to see Win ‘as the problem’. They believed his ‘bad behaviour’ could be ‘punished out of him’.
‘There needs to be better education for teachers around disability and grief and trauma. The belief that autism is some sort of "buffer" is prevalent, with most not understanding how autism complicates grief and trauma, and how to actually deal with children instead of yelling and traumatising them.’
One day at lunch time, another student attacked Win.
Lenah warned the school one of the children would be seriously hurt if they didn’t improve their supervision and support. The school refused to address the issue and blamed it all on Win.
The school banned Win from attending class camp. Lenah offered to accompany him but they declined saying, ‘He would just have to miss out.’
This was ‘the final straw’ and Lena removed Win from the school.
So far, he is having ‘a very positive experience’ at his new school.
‘He has had no suspensions, he successfully attended camp with no issues.’
Lately, Win has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because of his experiences at his previous school and the ‘serious lack of protection he had there’.
The NDIS has recently reviewed Win’s plan. They have halved his psychology funding despite letters from all the specialists who have been working with him.
‘I am terrified for my son entering high school … that he will continue to experience violence, exclusion and fear.’
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.