‘Doctors said she would have been in extreme pain all day’

Mum slams childcare after her autistic toddler was allegedly ignored for six hours with a broken ankle.

When Jade Olson picked up her daughters Rhylee and Maddy from their Cairns childcare on September 14, Rhylee was clearly distressed.

“She wouldn’t stop crying, even with me holding her. I was getting confused,” Jade told the Herald Sun.

“She wouldn’t let me put her down… she screamed all the way home.”

Unable to calm down two-year-old Rhylee, who has autism, Jade called an ambulance which took her to Cairns Hospital.

An x-ray revealed the cause of Rhylee’s distress: the toddler had fractured her left ankle.

“Doctors have said Rhylee had been in extreme pain all day and this would have been ‘quite a fall’ to do this,” Jade said.

The mum blames the childcare centre for allegedly ignoring what Jade believes must have been clear signs of distress, but the centre has denied Jade’s claims that staff didn’t give Rhylee adequate care.

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Maddy appeared to be patting her sister Rhylee. Photo: supplied

Mum alleges that childcare ignored toddler’s broken ankle for hours

When Jade dropped her daughters off early in the morning, both girls were fine.

At 2:30pm when she picked them up, Rhylee was beside herself.

Photos published by the Cairns Post show Rhylee standing at the edge of a trampoline at 8am. Later in the day, the little girl is seen lying on her stomach on playmats inside. Her sister Maddy is squatting next to her and appears to be patting her back.

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When Rhylee was picked up, she was in extreme pain. Photo: supplied

A spokesperson for the daycare denied any wrongdoing, saying “the incident as alleged simply did not occur”.

They added that they weren’t even aware of the allegations until someone brought Jade’s social media posts to their attention.

“At this point in time we still have not received any direct communication from the child’s family.”

On Tuesday, the centre self-reported the allegations to the Department of Education for investigation.

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“As the Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, the department places the highest priority on the health, safety and wellbeing of all children attending these services," a spokesperson for the Department said. 

“The ECRA is actively investigating this incident to establish the relevant facts and address any immediate risks.”

The childcare centre has denied Jade's allegations. Photo: supplied

Originally published as ‘Doctors said she would have been in extreme pain all day’