518.    Most survivors received little or no education while at the unit, which harmed their later education, employment prospects and financial security. Survivors said their schooling at the unit was limited, and many could not remember receiving any education. Some did not know the hospital even had a school.^[1133] Many of those who did remember attending the school said they did not recall learning anything there. They said their reading, writing and numeric skills suffered.

519.    Mr JJ said, “I am very upset that I never got to learn to read and write properly and never got any schooling at Lake Alice. It never made sense to me why I was taken away just to be assaulted and sexually abused and to get ECT, all just because I could not learn”.^[1134] Mr Tyrone Marks said he had to educate himself from reading newspapers. He learned to spell in the same way. “It took me years to do what I should have been rightfully taught when I was very, very young.”^[1135] One survivor said he could not say definitively whether the teachers were really interested in students’ education. “All I remember was doing a bit of drawing, passing the time playing games and sport and stuff like that. I regret not having a proper education.”^[1136]

520.    Some survivors said the electric shocks and other trauma resulted in lifelong damage to their ability to concentrate, learn and remember. Later schooling was severely affected. The disruption of moving between institutions, the lack of support once released, and the ridicule they experienced in new schools had a compounding effect on their education. An inadequate education, coupled with the social stigma of having been in a mental health institution, meant survivors struggled to get or hold on to jobs. They often found themselves having to take low-paid work, with the result that their financial security – and that of their families – suffered.

521.    Some survivors explained that their experiences at Lake Alice led to difficulties with their behaviour and attitudes, including towards authority figures, which affected their ability to hold down jobs. One survivor said he had always worked, but his attitude had prevented him from keeping jobs for very long. He attributed this to the effects of being in and out of boys’ homes and Lake Alice. “I always wanted to work, but my attitude got in the way … I was sacked from half of them and just threw the other jobs in because of my attitude problems.”^[1137] Mr Rose said he walked out of jobs “innumerable times” never to return, not even to pick up his wages, because of “supervisors and managers acting in an authoritarian and dictatorial manner. I have walked out of initial interviews for employment for the same reasons. My view is all of this has a lot to do with how I was treated while in care of the State”.^[1138] One survivor had to leave his job because the sound of workplace machinery triggered memories of the ECT machine Dr Leeks used.^[1139]

522.    Several survivors told us they could not work. For example, Mr Jane said he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his experiences in State care.^[1140] He said his disorder affects every part of his life, including employment.

“I have always found it hard to keep a job because I struggle with authority, trust, time management because of my memory issues etc. So, it was easier for me to keep with my life of crime … I have been in and out of jail all of my life, mainly for theft and motor vehicle offences.”^[1141]

523.    Some said they had been unable to work for many years. For example, Mr Richards told us ECT-induced memory problems made working very difficult and because of this he had walked out of his last job.

“I was meant to drive a truck in one direction and ended up about 30 kilometres away. When they rung me to ask where I was, I pretended I had been delayed and that I was on my way. Incidents like these happened a lot. I would always try to cover the memory gaps.”^[1142]

524.    He told us that he hasn’t worked for the last 10 years because he struggled with the stress. “I was always getting yelled at for making small mistakes. [Or] being bullied because I couldn’t remember what to do at work.”^[1143]

525.    Many survivors told us they had lost opportunities and missed income potential. One said he had been unable to find a job for most of his life: “No one would take me on after they asked about my education and found out I couldn’t read or write. Also, I have just not been well enough to work for most of my life. I believe I lost the chance to earn a living because of Lake Alice and Cherry Farm”.^[1144] Others struggled to have confidence in themselves in employment. For example, when Ms McInroe described the impacts on her children she said, “They lived with a mother who feared she was not capable of succeeding in any career or higher education and was only capable of menial employment”.^[1145]

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