One of the main obstacles when you have something bad happen to your special needs child no matter what age is the lack of belief and follow-up by the law.
    Noted from a news article (ABC 2019)
      '...Further, the police also interact with a legal system that is so ill-equipped to deal with people with a disability as witnesses to their own abuse, particularly those with an intellectual disability".As one parent John Barnett told me: "It kept coming back to the fact that because you're disabled you won't be believed".'

      When my son was injured in the first instant after being dissatisfied with the respite house playing down the incident and finding out from the doctor that the injury was a medium impact hit to the head with a round object
     I went to the police and made a complaint to a young police woman who was very sympathetic. However, when two other police women visited me they pushed everything I said aside to my consternation and frustration and said maybe he fell over, maybe he hit himself. I said he doesnt fall over he doesnt hit himself he is not violent he does not bang his head.
Oh said one of them my son comes home with bumps all the time. My son is non verbal I said which was the whole point of going to the police. He has no defence for himself. The policewoman sighed and said oh well we will go and talk to the respite house. The organization should sort it out. The organization wont I said they will lie about it to cover it up. I found out later they never did go to the respite house. The police also said that doctors dont always know what caused an injury. Why then do you use doctor's reports as forensic evidence in court cases I said? The policewoman said its probably a one off - I said a murder could be a one-off couldnt it? Shaking their heads they said with no cameras there is no evidence.
All in all the police had a barrier to any kind of action for my son. It horrified me that the law did not care and would do nothing for James and I was scared for his future.
He meant so little to them.
Later when nothing was carried out and I did not hear from the policewomen I went to the police station and did a statement about James's incident - also saying that the policewomen never followed this up 4 weeks ago, and the respite worker involved never reported James had been injured which was normal procedure in disability care. That she had denied seeing anything but offered a scenario that maybe someone (one of the other clients) had opened a door on James and hit him in the head, but she never saw anything happen, and then three days later said she did see a mark on his head. It was a large bruise and swelling that lasted three months. She was the only worker there at the time. Her incessant lying made me suspicious.
I asked the police to question her but they wouldnt they said she was too young (she was 29 years old and had been to a selective high school) She was not too young to be asked some questions and she was not stupid. I complained to the superintendent of police,with a two page letter, and an inspector called me to say look the organization should deal with this.
You need to question the worker I said, no no he said she's just a young girl she probably lied to cover it it and was scared. My son is scared I thought to myself later. I called the police again and another inspector called me back and said the same things, saying look kids always get bumps and scratches. My son is nonverbal I stated again. I felt like I was talking to an impenetratable wall.. The police did not want to do anything beyond questioning the respite house manager and seemed to want to protect the girl worker involved refusing to question her.
They also seemed ignorant of disabilities people like my son and one young policeman ask why did I put him in respite? I was stunned they didnt even know that parents were under extreme stress all the time with their special needs child.

I felt like I was in the movie "The hand that rocks the cradle" my defenceless vulnerable son had been the subject of a sinister hit which no one would address and everyone said was nothing. Because they wanted it to be nothing. It is not nothing I said to the branch manager of the respite organization.
In one of the conversations with an inspector since two called me I said parents live on the edge everyday of their lives with these children, they worry about if the child will improve or cope withlife, they worry constantly about their child's future and when something like this - an injury or assault happens and people cover it up or ignore it like you this sends them over the edge into depression. There was a silence.
The inspector finished the conversation not knowing what to say to me.
I realized without cameras and without a law we would always get nowhere for our disability children when something happens against them. We need justice for them they should have it. They are vulnerable. They need as much protecting as children do.

Thank you for signing the petition - please put it on your facebook or text it/send to other people you know so that we can continue to build signatures up aiming for a thousand now..

regards

Anndrea Wheatley (mother and resilience psychologist)