‘We had to move after burglary left autistic son devastated’
A MUM had to move home because her severely autistic son was “devastated” after burglars targeted their home.
The family were on holiday in Chessington at Easter, but when they returned to their home in Pentrebane, Cardiff, they discovered it had been burgled.
Nine-year-old Diego Thompson had his PS4, Nintendo Switch and X-box stolen, items he relied upon as he struggles to communicate because of his autism.
Mum Rebecca said life after the incident became unbearable for Diego, who was scared to leave home because he feared his things would be stolen.
She said: “We just couldn’t live there any more. Diego would wake me up in the middle of the night to go downstairs and check everything was safe.
“We’d sit there and after a while he’d be OK to go back to bed. He would be so scared to leave the house and no matter where we’d go, he’d ask to take his toys.”
Rebecca insists she was left with no choice but to move house as normal everyday activities, like going to school, became impossibly tough.
“He would go to school and all he would want to do is come home and stay in bed,” she said.
However, even after moving home, Diego’s mum said her son is still suffering.
“Before he was outgoing and we would always go to different parks, now he just wants to stay in bed,” she said.
“It’s absolutely devastating and it’s turned his life around. When we go in the car he hides as he’s scared of going outside. The burglars turned an outgoing and happy boy into a sad one.”
Rebecca, who cares for her son fulltime, said they returned home from holiday in April and saw the door unlocked.
When they went upstairs, they found the house had been ransacked and the gaming consoles taken.
The burglars even took Diego’s moneybox, which contained pennies.
Rebecca said: “People may commit burglaries and not understand the effect it has on the families. It may seem like nothing, but for an autistic boy these things mean the world.”
Rebecca said she hopes people understand the effect burglaries can have on people.
She added: “I want to ask them to think about the consequences their actions could have on the families they choose to steal from. I don’t think they should be sent to jail – they need education and maybe they will feel sympathy before they commit another crime.
“These burglars have ruined my son. No nine-year-old should have to live like this.”