A disability advocate group has uncovered serious complaints about the abuse and mistreatment of children with a disability by teaching staff, after filing Freedom of Information requests in every Australian state.
Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) CEO Mary Sayers described the instances documented as “terrible”.
“There was a case where a child had their hair pulled, and was dragged across a classroom, and was told that they were a ‘stupid boy,’” she said.
Ms Sayers said while “terrible”, the findings were not surprising, and were just “the tip of the iceberg”.