Kathmandu, Thapathali, Norvic Hospital. Room number 222 on the second floor of the hospital. A different scene can be seen here than in other rooms. Two nurses are waiting next to a bed. A girl is lying awkwardly on the bed in front of them. She is wearing a 'boxing helmet'. Her hair has been cut in a bun. Wounds and scars are also visible around the girl's mouth and ears.

She is 10-year-old Samita Maya Tamang. She was rescued from a house in Gajuri-4, Dhading by a team led by Aashika Tamang, a member of the House of Representatives. A group including Durganath Dahal, the president of Navajeevan Paropkar Samaj, based in Takeshwor-7, Futung, had reached the spot last Saturday to rescue Samita, who had been kept tied up in a goat cage for five years. After the rescue, she is undergoing treatment at Norvic Hospital. Samita is receiving free treatment with the help of Megha Chaudhary, the managing director of Norvic Hospital.

According to neighbors, Samita has two brothers and a sister. One sister and one brother are healthy, but one brother is mentally ill. She was also rescued by Manav Sewa Ashram on Saturday.

According to mother Binumaya Tamang, Samita did not cry when she was born. She had said, "I thought, 'Why didn't you cry, my daughter?' Even as she grew up, she would not speak, run away to different places, and try to fall out of the window." The rescue team said that she had started keeping her tied up in a goat pen with a shawl so that she would not get hurt if she fell.

Samita was left outside to graze goats during the day and kept near the goat pen in the evening. Doctors suspect that this may have had an effect on her, causing her to sleep on her back.

According to neighbor Purnakumari Rijal, the villages provide ration to the poor Tamang family. ‘Their main home is Gahakhola.’ There may be some land there. But, for the past 22 years, we have let them live in our other house,’ she said. Samita’s mother is also sick. Rijal told the rescue team that Samita’s condition may have been caused by having no one to take care of her. According to Rijal, Samita’s other brother is studying in grade 9, while her sister is studying in grade 8.

Why did the rescue team tie Samita up? When asked, she replied, ‘That child must have run away and done so because there was no one to take care of him.’ According to Purnakumari, the villagers have also arranged an ‘allowance’ for Samita and her brother. From that money, they sometimes brought rations and ate.

Samita eats dirt, does not make eye contact with people, does not speak but makes noises inside. She beats herself and self-harms. Dr. Niwa Rajbhandari Shrestha said that Samita, who has been undergoing treatment at Norvic Hospital for the last 3 days, has autism (multiple disabilities). ‘The child is non-verbal autistic.’ She cannot speak or express her emotions. ‘Autism spectrum disorder’ is not a disease, it is a neurodevelopmental disorder,’ she said.

Samita's family, however, informed the rescue team that she was kept in a cage for five years, believing her to be mentally unsound. 'Autism has many symptoms. We are investigating her every behavior,' said Dr. Nibha, 'However, sitting down all the time is not autism. Because she has been in the cage for a long time, she keeps sitting down no matter how hard we try to pick her up.' She eats biscuits and bananas by scraping them. Dr. Nibha said that her behavior is also very different. She says, 'This may have happened because she was kept in a dark place for a long time, as well as autism.' Unable to walk, she seems to be walking crookedly when she tries to walk with the support of others,' she said, 'The child is afraid when she sees a crowd of people, and seems unable to blend in with the environment.'

According to the doctor, Samita has problems with constipation, infection in the outer part of the ear, and blue spots on the body (soft tissue infection). She is being treated for it. Dr. Niwa said that this is due to her 'self-harm'. She has been given 'antipsychotic medication' and a boxing helmet to control the injuries she inflicted on herself. She said that she is also giving IV antibiotics.

She said that being kept in a cage at an age when she needs care has complicated the situation. Dr. Niwa says that there is still a need for a person or organization to provide proper care.

Durganath Dahal said that when she was rescued and brought out of the cage, her condition was very critical. He said, ‘We rescued her in a very critical condition,’ he said, ‘She was kept tied with a shawl around her feet. Her clothes were also very dirty and smelly.’