Family of young Queensland girl with brain injury claims school is not doing enough to support her

7NEWS

17-06-2025

A school says it has not blocked a young girl's access to a carer after her grandmother claimed the eight-year-old had been left to sit in soiled nappies in the classroom.
Amateil Speers was left with brain and spinal injuries after she was involved in a head-on car crash while going to get ice cream with her family in Mt Isa in 2019.
Her mother Natasha Wilson was killed and her brother suffered a broken neck.
The now eight-year-old is in grade three at Raceview State School in Ipswich and wants to be like all the other kids despite her disabilities.
'I just want to play with my friends but I can't,' she said.
Amateil can use the toilet at home with assistance but is unable to do so at school without support, so she wears pull-up nappies which staff change during the day.
Her grandmother claimed the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland offered to fund a full-time carer to help Amateil to the bathroom during class but the school turned it down.
'No matter what Amateil has been through, 'Oh she'll be OK, just put her in a corner and forget about her',' grandmother Sharon Wilson said.
'You can't do that. Her injuries are part of her, that's what makes her, so just take her seriously.'
But the Department of Education has refuted claims Amateil is left to sit in a soiled nappy at school.
'The school has no record of the alleged incident and has not declined a support worker,' a spokesperson said.
'Teacher aides are always available to assist if needed and the school has recently upgraded the bathroom to cater exclusively for this student's needs.'
The spokesperson said the school was working with Amateil's family and a team of health workers to review the toileting plan.
'The department will not provide any further information to respect the dignity of this student,' the department said.
Wilson said Amateil has come home on several occasions with different clothes on because her nappy wasn't changed before it soaked through her pants.
She also fears the young girl will have to undergo unnecessary bladder surgery if she is unable to use the toilet at school.
'It's so frustrating, just trying to get someone to listen and understand what we're going through,' she said.
Shine Lawyers is representing the family in a Compulsory Third Party insurance claim from the crash in 2019.
There has been no civil claim launched against the school but Shine Lawyers solicitor Madeleine Routley hopes Amateil will receive the care she needs.
'It would really empower her in terms of her recovery, because using the toilet is something doctors thought she'd never be able to do,' she said.