Quinn was left shocked by the brash letter. Photo / Facebook
Quinn was left shocked by the brash letter. Photo / Facebook
A Brisbane mother has been left stunned by a disturbing letter she received from a neighbour complaining about her autistic son.
A shocked Magenta Quinn discovered the typed out note waiting for her at home on Monday.
It read: "When you moved in we heard these strange moaning and shouting[sic] coming from your garden every day and night, for which we were concerned may be illegal activities, so we contacted the police who in turn have visited your premises.
"They informed us of your situation that a person in your family is suffering from a mental illness and that was the source of the noise."
While the writer claimed to show sympathy for Quinn and her family, they still requested that the noises stop, otherwise they would be taking action.
"I would kindly request that you consider your neighbours and try to limit the amount of time that is spent in the garden such that we do not have to listen to the disturbing noise daily and sometimes before 6am," they wrote.
"I am giving you the opportunity to help us live together in this community without it becoming a constant battle. If this continues at the regular intervals it has been, I intend to make formal complaints against your address to council to help resolve this issue. Yours sincerely, Neighbour."
Quinn posted the letter and a response to Facebook in the hopes that the author would find and read it:
The letter to Ms Quinn from an anonymous neighbour. Photo / Facebook
"Talking with council won't help, he's not a dog, it's a person. If you'd like to take him on a holiday so I can get some rest that would be awesome. Otherwise, please feel free to come and chat with me, there's a lot you do not understand. Have a great day!"
After sharing her post the single mum was bombarded with messages of support.
"I feel so completely loved. I put the post up then spent two hours responding to people," she said.
Quinn, who is her son's full-time carer, says the pair have only lived in the area for a couple of months.
"My son is autistic. He has the mental capacity of about a five to seven-year-old. His language capacity is exceptionally limited, we might get three to five-word sentences half a dozen times a day," Ms Quinn said.
"The noise they're referring to is that he hums and occasionally yelps. It's a calming mechanism, and without it, he would get very frustrated and aggressive so I'd prefer the humming."
Quinn hopes the writer will come forward so they could have a real conversation about it, face-to-face.
"It's not OK to control and bully other people. I'd ask them to come and have a chat with me and maybe we can explain things and work it out."
