A mother has revealed shocking photographs of her autistic twin boys being strapped in and restrained at a specialist school run by a principal with links to notorious Melbourne cult The Family. The pictures were taken when her 11-year-old boys were in their primary years and Tracey Hayes is now calling for an education inquiry into the school. The disturbing images are the first photographic evidence of the restraint and seclusion used against autistic children in schools across Australia, which dozens of parents have spoken out about in recent years. We don’t need violence, strapping them in or shut downs. My boys are the most beautiful little boys. I don’t restrain them at home; all I have is a car seat. I hold their hand and walk with them and tell them what’s going on. I’m proud of my boys,’ Ms Hayes said. She explained that her twins have little choice but to stay at the school until they are 18-years-old because the other state schools in Victoria that accept children with autism are also restraining and locking up children. One of her twins, whom she wishes to remain nameless, was strapped in a stroller for physical education lessons so he couldnt move - just watching while his classmates ran around having fun. The school have taken the photos in the past as they think it is their right to take the pictures, they have bound the books and sent them to me, Ms Hayes said. Ms Hayes is now allegedly banned from entering the grounds of Monash Special Developmental School in Melbourne where her sons attend after classes begin at 9am every day. Since the ‘lockdown’ of the school things have been far less open she claimed. The school is run by principal Helen McCoy, a close friend and executor of the will of cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne. The mother of four explained that using restraints is legally allowed in schools as a last resort but ‘we didn’t even get to a first resort’. ‘The staff lock the doors to keep children in when class has started as they don’t have enough staff and don’t want you to see what is going on,’ she said. She has written over 100 pages of examples of her concerns over the past several years, compiled with the help of other concerned parents. ‘My gut feeling this is just not right, I thought all schools were meant to be transparent,’ she said. Ms Hayes reportedly lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission but the Department of Education pulled out of the process. The children who attend Monash have the most ‘severe and profound disabilities’ and most have an IQ below 70. She explained after making numerous complaints, asking for meetings with the head teacher and talking to the Department of Education, that she and other parents are ‘pursuing other ways to get our voices out and heard’. ‘We need an inquiry to happen for our children to actually be educated,’ she said.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:53:43 +0000
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