Police had been called to a home in Sydney's west on Tuesday after a charity worker found a 16-year-old autistic boy allegedly chained to a bed in a back room.
His mother had arrived home shortly afterwards and was arrested. She's since been released without charge. The Department of Family and Community Services said it's now trying to ensure the boy is safe and cared for.
The case sparked shock and outrage, but in the family's Blacktown street there's been mostly sympathy.
"It's wrong what she did, but I can't blame her," said neighbour Josephine Calleja. "I feel sorry for the mother, but she has to do something about her son."
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The teenager's behaviour is well-known throughout the neighbourhood.
"He's been at my place," said neighbour Anna Marchione. "He jumped that gate. He was naked."
"[The mother's] friends told her to give the boy to somebody [to] look after. But she said, 'No, no, no, I want to look after him'."
"It's not a black-and-white issue. We have to have a deeper conversation to prevent this from happening, not just hang the mum on it. I think it's a simplistic way of looking at it."
Both neighbours said the mother has been on her own since her husband travelled to Sudan in April. The family was also due to travel there later this week.
Autism Awareness Australia CEO Nicole Rogerson told SBS News cases similar to this emerged constantly and while the measures allegedly taken here were inexcusable, people shouldn't be quick to judge.
"I can understand how this situation unfolds in both this case and others," she said. "But it's not a black-and-white issue. We have to have a deeper conversation to prevent this from happening, not just hang the mum on it. I think it's a simplistic way of looking at it."
The Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of NSW (MDAA) told SBS that more family support measures should be in place, but overcoming language and cultural barriers remained a challenge.
"It may also be the case that the current services that are available haven't been accessed by particular people because of a lack of appropriate information available," said MDAA's Acting Executive Director Ace Boncato.
