Chapter 13 — Special needs schools and residential services

Neglect

Witnesses with sensory, physical and intellectual disabilities commented on the accompanying communication difficulties they experienced. Deaf witnesses described the distress they endured when forced to communicate through speech instead of sign language and the considerable time and effort that was devoted to teaching them Oralism while forbidding any other form of communication: They were treating me like a stupid ...child... because I didn’t learn properly. I was very intelligent when I was small, I was very quick at picking up things through sign but I couldn’t learn through oralism, I was very, very low, my confidence was gone, my self-esteem was gone. I was very, very disappointed with myself, because I couldn’t learn through oralism, and then they would hit you if you didn’t understand and so we pretended to understand to avoid being hit all the time.

Witnesses with intellectual disabilities repeatedly commented on the fact that ‘nobody explained anything’ as a result of which they did not understand what they were supposed to do and at times why they were being punished or abused. Witnesses with sight and physical disabilities commented that they were treated as if they were deaf, that staff frequently spoke about them as if they were not there and that nobody ever asked them for their opinion.

In addition to the reports of inadequate classroom education five witnesses reported that the education and training offered in the workshops attached to the schools did not prepare them for independent living following their discharge. The lack of preparation for independent living was reported as abusive. They commented on the traumatic impact of being discharged from the shelter of residential settings without any aftercare or follow up: (Discharge preparation)...didn’t give us a great start, the best of us got through, if you had a strong character and if you came from a strong family home, that would support you but if you didn’t have that going for you, you kind of fell into a survival method.

Four (4) particular special needs schools were reported more often than others as providing a poor standard of physical care. Witnesses from those facilities consistently described cold, hunger, inadequate clothing and poor hygiene facilities. Ten (10) witnesses from those schools reported being frequently hungry or being forced to eat unpalatable food, three of whom also reported being forced to eat regurgitated food.

Poor hygiene and management of menstruation was cited by four female witnesses as an aspect of their neglect. They described being given little or no information about menstruation and were not provided with sanitary protection or the necessary facilities to maintain appropriate personal hygiene. Four (4) other witnesses described not having their own clothes and having to wear clothes from a communal supply that was infrequently changed and laundered.

Female witnesses reported being expected to undertake domestic work within the schools and two described being exploited as unpaid domestic staff. In addition to work tasks being described as an alternative to classroom education in the special needs facilities, witnesses also remarked on the absence of recreational activities. Witnesses with restricted mobility commented on the boredom associated with institutional living where it was reported that no effort was made to occupy or provide age-appropriate activities to children who were bed-bound.

Witnesses also reported being subjected to inappropriate daily routines that they believed were maintained for expedience. One example provided was of being awakened at 6:00 every morning to be washed and dressed by the night staff before they finished their shift. She reported being then left sitting in a cold room, waiting for breakfast that was not served until approximately two hours later.

Emotional abuse

Any other act or omission towards the child which results, or could reasonably be expected to result, in serious impairment of the physical or mental health or development of the child or serious adverse effects on his or her behaviour or welfare.8 This section describes witness evidence of emotional abuse by deprivation of affection, family contact and approval, loss of identity, and a lack of safety and protection. It refers to both what was done by religious and lay staff and others who had responsibility for the residents in their care and what they failed to provide. These deprivations impaired the social, emotional, physical functioning and development of witnesses and were identified by them as generally disturbing both at the time and in the subsequent course of their lives.

The Committee heard 24 reports of emotional abuse by 11 male and 13 female witnesses in relation to 10 special needs facilities. Fourteen (14) of the reports referred to witnesses’ experiences in services for children with sensory impairments. Six (6) facilities were the subject of between two and seven reports, totalling 20 reports. Four (4) facilities were each the subject of single reports.

Emotional abuse described by witnesses included deprivation of family contact, social isolation and humiliation, lack of affection, personal ridicule, constant criticism, bullying, fear and threats of harm. I can only think of years of abuse and torture and being a punch bag and crying.... Lonely and crying in bed most of the time and being scared and not being able to tell anyone. • To begin with, I was more or less bullied ... (by)... older lads ... often times they used do it for money. ... We used to go out and do work experience ... anytime I’d get paid for it they’d want the money off you ... I tried to say I didn’t have it, or something. ... They used to call me all sorts of names. ... I thought at first I’d avoid them, but every time I went to go off somewhere they’d follow me. ... They went on to kick the back of my heels, pushing me down the stairs, stick my head underwater and stuff.

The most consistently reported form of emotional abuse by the witnesses with special needs was of being denigrated, humiliated and disparaged about their appearance, mannerisms and intelligence. They reported being called names and made the subject of derogatory comments by certain staff, some of whom encouraged co-residents to jeer at their behaviour. Witnesses said their weakness and distress was subject to particular derision and they were further humiliated when they cried or demonstrated distress. They treated me like a dog, I couldn’t read and I couldn’t speak, the ...religious staff... called me names, terrible, they beat me up with a leather.

A reported consequence of the loss of family contact in the process of being institutionalised was loss of identity. Twelve (12) of the 58 witnesses reporting abuse in special needs schools had little or no information about their birth or family, and had no contact with family members after their admission. Three (3) witnesses had no information at all about their family of origin, and all they knew about themselves was their name. I suppose some of it was my fault really, I was looking for my mother, there was no answers... I heard girls talking about their Mammies and I had nobody to come up to see me, nobody. I knew nothing... (about family)... so I took these fits of tempers, I was a handful.

In general, witnesses reported that family contact was restricted to the routine Christmas, Easter and summer school holidays. Witnesses who were admitted to special needs services from home gave accounts of being deprived of contact with their families after their admission and of family visits being denied as punishment for alleged misbehaviour. Several witnesses commented on the fact that their homes were long distances from the schools and as a result their families were unable to visit. They reported that all other contact, apart from going home for holidays, was confined to letter writing, which had particular limitations for residents with sight and learning impairments. Witnesses reported that their letters were dictated and strictly controlled. ‘We were not allowed to ask for anything or to say anything about our daily life there.’

Witnesses commented on the absence of any demonstration of verbal and physical affection towards them by staff. For those witnesses admitted at a young age from family homes where they had experienced warmth and affection this deprivation had a particularly disturbing impact. Witnesses with sensory impairments found being ‘sent to Coventry’ particularly distressing. They described not being spoken to by staff and co-residents, and being isolated in rooms.

Many deaf witnesses described how distressing it was to be denied the use of sign language, which was their only means of communication. Sign language was also the accepted manner in which many witnesses communicated with their family. Loss of contact with family members was accentuated for some witnesses as a result of their parents being told by staff in some schools not to use sign language during holidays. Deaf witnesses who were compelled to communicate verbally reported being socially isolated as a result of the difficulty they experienced with this process. Witnesses reported that loneliness and isolation were further exacerbated by restrictions on communication and the reported disapproval of friendships between residents.