Nigel Jones scathing of public education system over treatment of son with autism

A Hobart father says children with autism are treated “appallingly” in the Tasmanian education system, as he fights for his son to enrol in year 13 so he can be prepared for adult life.

A Hobart father says children with autism are treated “appallingly” in the Tasmanian education system, as he fights for his son to enrol in year 13.

Nigel Jones, who is former president of the Tasmanian Association of State Schools, said his son Xavier, who has autism, has limited reading and writing skills.

“At the moment his currency is balloons, you could give him $50 and he wouldn’t understand anything of what $50 is,” Mr Jones said.

“You could give him a balloon and he’s as happy as Larry.”

Xavier’s limitations mean he won’t be eligible for a number of disability employment opportunities.

“I contacted every single one of [the disability employment providers] before Christmas and they all said no because Xavier can’t read or write, which means they don’t have programs for him,” he said.

“One had a cooking program at Seven Mile Beach, but Xavier, because he couldn’t read or write, was a danger, therefore they couldn’t take him.”

It’s one of the reasons why Mr Jones wants his son to complete year 13.

Xavier Jones 18 with father Nigel Jones of Hobart. Xavier has now missed the entire first term of the school year after his enrolment to do a year 13 was refused. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

But enrolling Xavier into year 13 hasn’t been easy, and Mr Jones has been going back and forth between the Department of Education and Rosny College since October.

Because of the delays, Xavier is now only expected to begin in term two, and exactly when he will begin is yet to be finalised.

Mr Jones said his son had already missed the most important part of the year.

“All because the bureaucracy couldn’t get their act together on one child,” he said.

“I’m hoping he can start first day back in term two and that the resources are there and that at the end of the year he will be able to write his name, count to 20 and understand a little bit more about life skills.

“This is the last shot we can give him as far as the education system goes, so he can then be transitioned into life programs, through Mosaic and through the NDIS.”

Xavier Jones 18 with father Nigel Jones of Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Jones said it was not the first time his son’s autism had been treated like a burden.

He said there were several interruptions to his year 11 and 12 studies.

“[The teacher] had the plan that when he had a seizure, he was to stay quiet for a little while and after five, 10 minutes, maybe even half an hour, he’d be fine to continue for the rest of the day,” Mr Jones said.

“It’s not like an epileptic seizure, but they didn’t follow that plan – any time he had a seizure or they thought he looked tired, ‘can you come and get him?’”

Xavier also failed an exam last year in which he was required to read a recipe to pass and no alternative was provided.

“Isn’t that discriminatory? They knew he couldn’t read, they knew he couldn’t write, yet they didn’t bother telling me that was going to be the end result,” he said.

A department of education spokesman said learning plans were developed for students requiring learning adjustments.

“The Department’s Educational Adjustments approach for students with disability has provided additional funding for schools to further support students with disability, so they can participate on the same basis as their peers with the aim to support more successful engagement of students with disability,” he said.

The spokesman said KPMG had been contracted to undertake an independent review of the Educational Adjustments disability funding model 2023.

Originally published as Nigel Jones scathing of public education system over treatment of son with autism