Child support worker guilty of 'snap' assault on autistic son

A children's domestic violence support worker has been found guilty of punching her autistic teenage son in the face in a "snap" assault.

The 39-year-old woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her son, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in Hervey Bay District Court today.

At the time of the offence in January last year, the woman had worked for seven years at a support service for children who had experienced or who were at risk of harm, the court heard.

The woman's barrister, Lara Soldi, told the court that, at the time, her client had accepted a job with another organisation as a specialist domestic violence practitioner, and was "troubled" by the prospect of leaving her long-time employer.

The woman sat in the dock weeping as Crown prosecutor Joshua Francis read the facts of the case.

On the day of the incident, she had returned to her Hervey Bay home after spending the day managing a client who had been arguing with their child, the court heard.

She had been "pacing and crying" at home when she got into an argument with her son.

The court heard the boy had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and the woman "felt intimidated by him" because he weighed about 89 kilograms.

Ms Soldi said the woman began hyperventilating during the argument "and then effectively snapped".

The court heard the woman threw her phone at her son, rushed towards him and punched him in the nose and cheek.

Mr Francis told the court the boy sustained a deviated septum, nosebleeds and bruising to his eye sockets.

Following the assault, the boy packed his belongings and went to his father's home, where he had stayed since the incident.

Mr Francis said the boy had not spoken with his mother again during that time.

Ms Soldi told the court her client was a victim of domestic violence herself, perpetrated by her father and a former partner, and that was the reason she had chosen to work in the domestic violence support field.

The woman was remorseful for her actions and her blue card was cancelled because of the incident, Ms Soldi said.

"She knows how serious this … given her education and her work history, this is not lost on her," she said.

Judge Nathan Jarro said it was "very ironic" that someone who had worked for a children's domestic violence support service had offended against her own son.

"'Surprising' and 'disappointing' are also adjectives that arise," Ms Soldi said.

Judge Jarro sentenced the woman to 18 months' probation and ordered her to pay $3,000 in compensation to her son by June next year.