Let's see if anything changes after the Royal Commission
Randa Habelrih
International Award Winning Speaker focusing on raising the acceptance and awareness of autistic individuals and changing the attitudes and perceptions of autism in society.
Today was the day that I gave evidence at the Royal Commission.
To say that it was a cathartic experience is an understatement.
The process was very professional, the care that was taken very much appreciated and the commissioner was very empathetic.
I strongly suggest that if you are in a position to give evidence, don't hesitate. For me the preparation was very stressful, I was on deadline for so many projects and I asked myself repeatedly, why am I doing this?
When I had finished and I walked out, I knew why I had done this.
It was the right thing to do.
I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. Someone, finally heard in detail what our challenges are. I ended by saying, our son is a blessing, he is not a burden, the burden is the system that we have to fight daily.
The fight to get a diagnosis
The fight to have our son enrolled in school after being rejected repeatedly (despite the fact that he has a legislated right to inclusive education at any government, catholic or private school...yeah sure!)
The fight for services
The fight against exclusion and bullying
The fight to have an expectation of an outcome regarding education; regarding post-school programmes that promise the world yet are nothing more than adult babysitting programmes. The fight for NDIS funding
The fight for decent support services to find employment, it never ends.
It is draining, and yet we still have to function in a world that has no idea what our daily lives are like, or what the lives of our children are like.
We constantly have to fit in, we have to adjust to the expectations of the wider community, we are judged, criticised, reprimanded, our children punished for actions they cannot always control, we are made to feel like we are bad parents and the community never remembers that there is no reprieve from this 24/7 care. Our children do not leave the nest. We grow older with them. We have less energy yet are expected to give more with each passing year, still expected to fight for services and still fighting for respect.
We are an afterthought.
I finally felt after walking out of the session, we are being heard.
I repeat what I ended my session with, our son is a blessing, he is not a burden, the burden is the system and the community that we have to fight daily.
Go and give your evidence, all our stories need to be heard.