Mother of autistic teenager found in chains speaks out

The story of a 16 year old boy with autism, found chained up in his room, has shocked the nation. But now his mum, a Sudanese refugee has spoke of her mistake.

The single mother-of-five said she loved her son and would “do anything for him”.

“I used to take him everywhere with me, but now he is strong. This time I was scared because the last time he ran away and pushed me and people in the street and the chemist.

“That’s why I didn’t take him with me.”

Adrian Thompson, CEO of Josephite Community Aid, said his organisation had worked with Ms Adam and described her as a loving mother who would go to immense lengths to care for her child.

“I have seen the love this mother has for her kids. I have seen her go through so much just to help him be part of the community.

“He can act out. I’ve seen him do it. But I’ve seen her care for him so well.”

Mr Thompson said when they realised the teenager was chained to a bed, they immediately alerted authorities.

When Ms Adam returned home to find police, paramedics and officers from Fire and Rescue NSW she said “I was very scared. I thought maybe there is a fire.”

The boy usually attends a special needs school in Seven Hills, but she had been too ill to take him.

The teenager had run away from the family’s Blacktown home on numerous occasions, she said, and she feared he might do it again while she made the 45-minute round trip to the doctor’s surgery and the shops.

“If I didn’t tie him like this, he would run away in the street, no coming back. He would go and not stop. The cars are dangerous and he doesn’t understand about cars.

“That’s why I was scared, the cars would hit him.” It was a “big, big mistake”, Ms Adam said.

“Never, never, never, never, ever again.”

“Everyone who knows me, everyone from the community, knows I love my son.

“I’ve taken care of him for 16 years. I do everything for him. I feed him, give him medicine, everything. I have no help. No one from the government or anywhere comes to help me.”

I feel so sad for this poor mum. You can really hear her pain and regret.

Share your thoughts below.

Image source 7News

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15 Comments

- - mom134803 said
  - 22 Sep 2016
    12:51 pm
I can understand why this mum did this.
Hope she gets help and understanding, not judgement.

- - youngoldlady said
  - 12 Jan 2016
    3:12 am
Special need children can be hard at times to look after without extra help. Should not judge people until you know what is happening. Yes she did the wrong thing in chaining him up but you need to be in her shoes.

- - mamavon said
  - 07 Jan 2016
    11:22 am
That is the reason why we should not judge any situation without first knowing the whole story behind it. I hope this mum gets some help with her son.

- - rachelvk said
  - 30 Dec 2015
    9:35 pm
It is such a sad story for all involved,

- - mom93821 said
  - 08 Dec 2015
    6:10 am
I am pleased that there is support in place for the child and the mother.

- - Nas01 said
  - 06 Dec 2015
    1:19 pm
I really feel for this mum. It’s a sad story and u truely think she needs support and deserves assistance rather than judgement from strangers.

- - angelskies said
  - 04 Dec 2015
    11:18 am
Home doctor? Too sick to take him to school but well enough to go shopping?!? She had a carer coming why didn’t she just wait till he was safely supervised before going?!? As a mother with asd boys yes it can be hard and they can be incredibly strong but she had support she did not have to make this decision – just mind boggling.

- - mom160421 said
  - 22 Nov 2015
    4:10 pm
I agree with everyone else here. This mum needs help and now that authorities are aware of her situation, hopefully she will get some home help and strategies to help her cope.

- - kathryn said
  - 17 Nov 2015
    10:31 am
Good to hear the other side of the story as it sounded so terrible

- - aprilb1 said
  - 16 Nov 2015
    7:49 pm
As a mum to a disabled child, we live in a rural area and the lack of support is so upsetting! Basic things people can do daily with their children like go shopping is extremely challenging for me as my child cannot walk and we are waiting for funding for a wheelchair which is also a slow process. Usually i have to wait for my partner to come home and only one of us gets to go. So this would be incredibly hard for a single mother! I’m not sure how i would cope without my partner. Although it is wrong to do what she did, she shouldn’t have been left to feel it was her only option! There is a serious lack of support services available.

- - mom94125 said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    3:29 pm
what a sad situation. would be very tough for her. hopefully she does get the help she requires.

- - mom81879 said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    2:18 pm
I am so glad this poor mum has had the chance to share her side of things. I’ve seen so many condemn her for what she did, including here on MoMs. Yeah, we all know you don’t chain your kids up. But none of us know what this poor woman has gone through before she got to this stage. I hope someone comes forward and helps her and the family

- - taynik46 said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    12:56 pm
it’s heartbreaking that she has no support and felt compelled to chain her son up for his own safety and her own peace of mind while she did what needed to be done. I truly hope that the people in charge of organisations that provide support go out of their way to make sure that she is fully supported. If the community knows how much she loves her son why are non of them helping her?

- - mom74640 said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    11:38 am
Lke va

- - Sam said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    9:48 am
Thats so sad – I truly believe she did what she did to protect him! This poor mum needs some help!