It took 10 people to hold down a petrified teenager with autism before a MRI scan, in one of many hospital visits his mother says have left him traumatised.
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Melbourne nurse Sabrina Monaghan told the Disability Royal Commission the whole system - education, health, dental and community services - had let down her son, who was referred to only as AAL.
"I am consumed with anger at the injustice and everything that has happened to AAL and that he has not had timely access to dental and health care needs," she told the commission's Sydney hearing on Monday.
AAL has moderate-to-severe autism as well as a moderate intellectual disability, and is predominantly non-verbal.
Ms Monaghan said he is just like any other teenager who loves listening to music and riding his bike.
AAL experienced a number of traumatic events as a young boy, including nearly drowning when he was three and being left on a school bus for most of the day when he was seven.
Ms Monaghan said the repeated hospital visits and his experience at school, which included the regular use of punitive measures and seclusion, have added to AAL's trauma.
In her statement to the commission, Ms Monaghan recounted how AAL became hysterical when he had to have a MRI in 2018.
"It took 10 people to hold him down, with a lot more standing by," she said, adding he was then sedated.
"AAL was absolutely petrified, screaming at the top of his voice, in sheer panic.
"I will never forget it. Of course I was crying seeing my son like that."
NSW woman Narelle Reynolds told the commission her pleas to have assistance for her adult sons when they access medical services had repeatedly been ignored.
"Every procedure with doctors - basically I tell people I have to put my boys on show for people to get it," she said.
Justin and Luke, who both have an intellectual disability and live with the genetic condition Fragile X syndrome, share a great fear and anxiety about being in hospital.
Ms Reynolds said doctors did not listen to her advice that Justin, a 38-year-old "gentle giant", needed medication to calm him down before he went into hospital to have a tooth removed a decade ago.
"I said to my brother, 'Please watch him because he is going to hurt me because I've put him here'.
"I got thrown from one side of the room to the other - and it hurt. And then they wanted to give him something because then they were frightened that he would hurt them."
Ms Reynolds said she asked doctors to give Luke medication to calm him before a biopsy after the 33-year-old was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but that only happened after eight failed attempts.
She called for hospitals to have trained disability workers and better access to culturally-appropriate health services for Aboriginal people.
Australian Associated Press
