It soun ds as though this boy may have been lead astray by a gang who may have taken advantage of his disability. He is possibly very vulnerable and threatened by his peers.
We once saw a lad who would have been about that age who had a habit of going for a walk, sometimes at night and would get lost. We spotted him one night running backwards and forwards across a main road at various spots. He had dark skin and curly black hair. Fortunately he had a light coloured top on. We stopped and the people I was with called the Police. He decided to sit on a garbage bin which had been put out for the following day. We watched him from a distance as his actions seemed irrational. We didn’t know whether he had a disability but one of people was a nurse and had worked with children with autism and other similar issues. Some are placid, others lash our if they are approached by a stranger. The Police seemed to appear from all directions. After he had been picked up the nurse spoke to some of the Police. He was Autistic, one very placid happy lad. The lad ran towards and got into a Police Car. He was obviously glad to see them. We was known to them and they were out searching for him as he occasionally got lost. His Mum would stay home with their other small children in case he came home while his Dad and the Police were searching for him. He was tall and could reach the key wherever they put it. They didn’t hide it anywhere else in case of a fire. He has hypersensitive hearing, sense of smell, and heightened sense of danger…………He was having various types of therapy but getting lost was one problem they hadn’t solved.

I understand the parents (and the child) are all desperate and they seem to care.
Think I would prefer to seek professional help.

This is a very hard one for me to answer and who are we to criticise and what would we do given the circumstances. ? At least these parents are trying.

It seems like the mother had no other choice open to her at the time,very sad.

It is so hard to bring up a child these days. Nobody gives parents a right to discipline or chastise their child. This mother is obviously at her wits end, but so is the child as it allows itself to be chained up . This at least gives him/her an out with their peers as to why they weren’t running with the gang at night these days. Not a good scene at all

I think these parents are in a desperate situation and handling the matter as best they know how. I hope their son changes his ways.

I can’t believe there isn’t any other way to face this issue!!

Professional support would be needed to address the issues and to implement strategies that respect a person and their human rights.