Zavier, Xena and Kensley
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.
‘Children with ADHD are not choosing to be naughty … They have a neurological difference that if you were to take an image of their brain it would be different to a person without it.’
Kensley is the mum of ‘two beautiful kids’, Zavier and Xena, who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Zavier’s ADHD impacts ‘every aspect of his functional capacity in all areas of his daily living’.
Kensley told the Royal Commission that Zavier’s transition into primary school was ‘awful for him, for us, for his school and his classmates’.
The school was not equipped or supported to assist him. The principal suspended him a number of times and he missed more than 80 days in his first year.
‘The pressure on a five-year-old to just behave was a recipe for disaster.’
Kensley and Zavier’s father paid for a psychologist, a speech and an occupational therapist and ‘did everything the school asked [them] to do.’
Year 2 was just as bad.
Kensley pleaded with the education department to help the school support Zavier.
In year 3, after an incident at school, Zavier was admitted to a children’s mental health ward.
‘He said things like, "I hate my brain, I wish I could be normal like everyone else, just kill me."’
Xena did a ‘really good job of masking her ADHD’ and developed anxiety trying to fit in.
She struggled silently and was diagnosed almost a year after she started school.
Kensley paid for therapists to attend the school and the teacher started using appropriate accommodations.
But Xena’s anxiety didn’t abate and she was admitted to the children’s mental health ward.
She asked her mother, ‘Why can't I be like everyone else?’ and told her she hated her ADHD. She said, ‘I've just had enough mummy, I can't do it anymore.’
Zavier, now in year 4, has a teacher who ‘gets him’. The school is listening to his therapists and is supporting him.
‘There is a need for change on how kids like mine are supported, so they don't keep thinking that they are broken,’ Kensley said.
‘I don't want my children to end up sad and confused in their teens because they live in a society where they are judged, misunderstood.’
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.