This is my daughter Rachel who has Autism and asthma she’s now age 12 we are from Scotland Glasgow. She used to me the most happiest little girl in the world so excited about life she loved everything and everyone she met she was known as that little girl with the long blonde hair who hugs everyone.
Then she started mainstream school and suffered 6 years of ignorance towards her Autism from staff and bullying because of it from children and she became suicidal because of it running away from school and police looking for her.
Rachel nearly died in 2016 from a severe asthma attack that happened at school even after I signed in a new inhaler with strict written instructions and a verbal conversation with the school office to please make sure she uses her inhaler and to please inform her new teacher.
They wouldn’t allow her to keep her inhaler on her even though in the Scottish guidelines that over age 10 is mature enough to keep the inhaler on them.
She didn’t get access to her inhaler that day even though my daughter asked to go to the office to get it several times and was told to wait several times until after breaks but again as usual school deny their discrimination that they treat my daughter as over reacting even though they said it to psychologists.
Rachel was left coughing on and off for 3 hrs that day.
Rachel eventually ran out of school screaming holding her stomach and chest area in pain she ran to me outside the school at lunchtime as I was talking to a teacher on the pavement and she had blue on her eyebrows and slightly on her top lip.
The teacher stood beside my daughters right arm asking if she was ok she witnessed this and has denied this happened.
Rachel was sick across from the school into a drain I gave her the spare inhaler I carry on me and this only slightly helped. A kind neighbor took us to the local outpatients hospital were the hospital called an ambulance to the children hospital and she was in the children hospital for 3 nights on oxygen and nebuliser and chest x rays and blood tests and steroids all because my daughter and myself as per usual treated as if were over reacting and my daughter is supposedly just sensitive.
My daughter having Autism and supposedly being just sensitive (which she never was before she started school) has always been used to excuse people’s ignorance and discrimination towards her Autism.
My daughter has been spat on in school punched, songs made up about her, fingers bent back, jacket thrown around between children so she would chase after it, face pushed off the school railings, dragged out of toilets pulled close to the stairs,s melly sandwiches put in her bag, shoes thrown into builders area, chairs pulled away from her, items stolen and a hula hoop thrown at her direction while running and she slipped on her and received concussion and school left her sleeping for 15 min as if she was
over reacting.
She’s had a teacher take ear defenders from her and calling her ignorant.
She’s had teacher take a vote in the class if they thought she was telling the truth or not the kids shouted no and Rachel burst out crying. She had a teacher threatening her for being a grass and then played a game of Chinese whispers for a punishment.
She had a teacher leave her in the classroom storage cupboard with no window sat squashed between high heavy boxes on a dusty cold floor for hours without being checked on for long periods of time.
My daughter was top of her class way ahead of everyone else and became an empty shell because of 6 years of systemic discrimination towards her Autismi had the Education Director threaten me to keep my mouth closed with my comments about one of her schools.
I had the school actively put lies in my daughters school records about me which eventually got social workers out under false pretences the social workers knew this after visiting my home and they complained to the school.
I had the school not document lots of the bullying were children were caught because it backed up what I have been complaining about.
I went to a solicitor and lost my case because the school illegally wouldn’t give me my daughters school records only gave me some of the school records.
So I got my daughters medical records to prove what was missing from the school records which was years of incidents.
I have had a parent of the bully threaten me with her family and friends harassing myself and both my daughters with Autism i eventually had to get interdicts with power of arrest and one of them used to work in the school office.
Still nothing has been done even though I told John Swinney and Nicola Strugeon.
My daughter is now home educated because of this and because I have spoken out about the ignorance and discrimination our lives have been made a living hell.
This is my daughter she used to be so happy she’ll never be the same again it’s a permanent work in progress to help her have a day without breaking down.
She attends karate 5 days a week and her sensei is amazing he is helping her psychologically everyday boosting her confidence and helping her socialise and giving her a purpose in life and that she is important and deserves respect.
Her sensei has experience working in additional needs schools so that has been an added bonus he has helped keep my daughter alive because if it wasn’t for him I honestly don’t know if my daughter would be here she used to think the world hated her and that she was worthless she wanted to be with me 24/7 now she can go to karate 5 days a week.
There is no excuse in nearly 2019 for staff anywhere not to have Autism training because it helps saves lives.
Thank you
Jenny Devlin