Chapter 13 — Special needs schools and residential services

Current circumstances

The following section summaries the information provided by witnesses during their hearings regarding their adult lives, including details about relationships, employment and parenting. It also identifies some of the reported ongoing effects of childhood abuse in the witnesses’ lives.

Thirty two (32) of the 58 witnesses, 22 male and 10 female, who reported being abused in special needs facilities were single at the time of their hearing. Twenty eight (28) of those witnesses reported never having been married or involved in intimate relationships. Four (4) other witnesses were currently single having been previously involved in relationships for short periods. Twenty two (22) witnesses, 13 male and nine female, were married. Four (4) other witnesses reported being in long-term relationships, currently or in the past.

Twenty six (26) witnesses, 19 male and seven female, who reported being single and who had never married, were in sheltered living situations or had lived in residential facilities for most of their lives. Eighteen (18) witnesses, 11 male and seven female, who were married at the time of their hearing described their marriages as happy, stable, supportive and of many years duration. Several witnesses reported meeting and marrying partners who had similar childhood experiences as their own. Met... (my)... husband to be, got married and didn’t go back to work. When I met my husband we had great communication ... I was so happy to be with him ... we left all the past behind, we really forgot about that ...(childhood abuse)...

Eighteen (18) witnesses described themselves as having struggled with the effects of institutional care and abuse for years following their discharge from special needs schools and residential facilities. Childhood sexual abuse was reported by 10 witnesses to have had a particularly detrimental effect on their adult relationships. Alcohol abuse and unresolved anger were noted features of the relationships difficulties described by a small number of witnesses. I started drinking too much, found myself not able to go into work the next day and I didn’t feel very good about that ... went to AA ... for all my sins I think I do still drink more than I should ... they all say to me “you’re such a nice man without it” ... • For...years after I left I lived the best I could. I wasn’t aware that things were so difficult as they were, I normalised all that went wrong...That left me socially very difficult...I couldn’t handle it at all, relationships and that... • I’d say all the group... (former co-residents)... ended up in trouble with alcohol, or social isolation or didn’t make it into relationships at all.... A lot of them... (are)... very bitter and isolated, they continue to survive, just survive.

Counselling and the support of partners, family and professionals were all reported to have contributed to happier outcomes for a number of witnesses. Married... ( many years)... very happy. My wife understands my problem. We have...children. I didn’t understand for a long time, when I got married first ... about... (sexual)... relations...(until)... I went to see the counsellor ... I don’t know how ...wife ... did enjoy the relationship. Because of sexual abuse in the school, that put me off... I can’t enjoy sexual relations... (but)... we have worked it out,... wife...is brilliant.

Twenty (20) witnesses, 12 male and eight female, reported having a total of 59 children. Ten (10) described having good relationships with their children. Four (4) witnesses described themselves as overprotective of their children and another three reported being harsh or abusive parents. They reported hitting and slapping their children, commenting that they treated their children as they had been treated themselves. When my children were bold or wild I slapped them. Sometimes I slapped them around the face and I remember one day.... I slapped him... (son)... repeatedly around the face. He started crying, he got frightened, I lost my temper with him I think, I didn’t realise until afterwards that it was wrong to slap. It was what I had learned in school ... I didn’t know anything about child abuse. I remember when I was driving there was a big...(advertising poster)... about how not to slap your child, that it can affect them mentally, and that had a huge impact. I was wondering, you know, what did I do to my children?... (I)... felt so guilty, so very, very guilty. I was very hard on them, I did slap them very hard ... distressed and crying ... I remember seeing this poster and I felt so guilty.... I loved them... and they loved me and I remember thinking why did I do that to them?... I realised I learned that from the school, they did that to me all the time and I did that to the children. I feel terrible guilty about that ... and then I stopped and they behaved very well after that.

Other witnesses described being angry a lot of the time for unspecified reasons. They now believe their anger and unhappiness was related to childhood experiences, which they acknowledge contributed to unhappy family lives for their own children.

Twenty-three (23) witnesses, 15 male and eight female, were employed at the time of their hearing, three others were working at home and three were retired. Five (5) witnesses reported being unemployed and the remaining 24 witnesses, 18 male and six female, were in receipt of disability income. Five (5) of these 24 witnesses had been previously employed for substantial periods of time.

As previously stated, many of the 19 witnesses with sensory impairments commented on the inadequate level of education provided for them in the schools, where the main emphasis was on remediation for their particular disability. They reported being denied both an academic education and the means to communicate effectively in mainstream society. These witnesses repeatedly remarked on the consequent disadvantages for them in their later work lives. While many witnesses established themselves in successful careers, they nevertheless reported having struggled for years to overcome the shortcomings of their education.

Eighteen (18) of the 58 witnesses reported receiving second-level education for some time in their adolescence. Five (5) of these 18 witnesses subsequently attended third-level education. The remaining 40 witnesses reported attending school at primary level, in 20 instances until they were aged 16 years or older.

Witnesses generally commented on the difficulty they experienced finding employment when they were discharged from the special needs schools and services. It was consistently reported that there were little or no formal placement or aftercare services available for them as young people with special needs. Telephonist training, tailoring, shoemaking, clerical employment, and assembly work were traditional areas of work mentioned for those with sensory and other impairments. Witnesses commented that these designated fields of employment did not suit everyone but prior to the 1970s there was very little, if any, choice available.

Twenty three (23) witnesses reported having stable and predominantly satisfying work careers and often commented on the helpful intervention of individuals they met along the way. One witness described himself as fortunate to work with someone who acted as a mentor and who advised the witness to travel and experience life in other places. He reported that he would be forever grateful for the encouragement he received from this person and was aware that his own circumstances were better than many of his peers who remained in the same jobs where they were originally placed by the school.

Three (3) female witnesses reported being retained in their particular special needs schools as domestic workers for a number of years. These witnesses all subsequently arranged alternative employment for themselves outside the institutions and commented on the assistance they were grateful to receive from kind work colleagues in the schools.

Five (5) witnesses reported that they are involved in the disability sector either working within organisations for people with disabilities or on behalf of people with special needs.

Twelve (12) witnesses stated that they have been in sheltered work situations since they were discharged from the special needs schools and services, some of which have been provided or supported by the same organisations who managed the special needs facilities. Involvement in the sheltered employment programs was, in some instances, part of the aftercare service provided by organisations in conjunction with sheltered accommodation. Other sheltered employment services were provided by voluntary community-based organisations to which residents were referred when they were discharged from the special needs schools.