Chapter 13 — Special needs schools and residential services

Current circumstances

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.

For other witnesses employment was reported as a problematic area of their lives. Fifteen (15) reported having great difficulty settling into employment and as a result have been unemployed for substantial periods of time. The Committee heard numerous reports of witnesses being poorly treated by employers and making frequent job changes in attempts to find better situations. Relations with work colleagues were citied as a problem area. Several witnesses reported that communication difficulties with their work colleagues contributed to them feeling victimised in various ways. Others commented on the fact that they were disadvantaged in employment situations by what they regarded as the prejudice of both co-workers and employers towards people with disabilities. The lack of preparation for independence and a social life outside the institutional setting was believed by many of these witnesses to have contributed to the particular difficulties experienced. I was raped when I was... (homeless)... it was a bad rape. I think I had a breakdown, I was working on kind of overdrive ... I didn’t care anymore what happened to me, I’d get a job and then I’d lose it. I felt like I closed down a great deal. I gave up wanting to get a job. • I was happy... (at work)... and everything was good, but as soon as I was given out to again it all came flooding back. They were wrong at school to be constantly giving out to us, because we didn’t know how to answer back, we didn’t know how to be ... assertive.

Seven (7) witnesses stated that they have been on disability income all their lives and had never participated in any formal employment activity.

Witnesses reported having reasonably settled accommodation, with 18 witnesses owning their own home. Most of the 23 witnesses who were living in sheltered accommodation had resided there since their time in the special needs facility. As previously stated, sheltered accommodation programs were, and continue to be, provided by some of the special needs services as part of their ongoing service delivery. Witnesses in sheltered accommodation programs described different living situations. A number lived in group homes with other adults who had similar needs and required minimal daily assistance. Others lived in small residential units with 24-hour staff cover. Witnesses in sheltered accommodation generally reported having good support services and relatively secure accommodation. Lack of income security provided considerable difficulty for 17 witnesses, who were dependent on the private rental market or the goodwill of friends and relatives for accommodation. Reported housing arrangements at the time of hearings were: Twenty three (23) witnesses lived in sheltered accommodation. Eighteen (18) witnesses reported that they owned their own homes. Eleven (11) witnesses lived in rented accommodation, either in the private or public sector. Six (6) witnesses lived with friends or relatives.

During the course of their hearings witnesses provided general information regarding their health and well-being, both directly and in the context of describing their current life circumstances. For the purpose of writing this Report the Committee categorised witnesses’ physical and mental health status as good, reasonable or poor based on the information provided at the hearing about their current and past health history. Twenty two (22) of the witnesses who had intellectual impairments provided minimal details regarding their health status and are categorised as ‘unknown’ in the absence of sufficient information being provided to allow a more accurate description.

Sixteen (16) of the 36 witnesses who provided information about their general health status described having good physical health. In general these witnesses commented that they have not had any major health concerns apart from routine or age-related conditions that had responded well to treatment.