Boy eating mum out of house and home
A little boy is quite literally eating his mother out of house and home due a rare psychological disorder which means he cannot tell the difference between food and inedible objects.
Five-year-old Zach Tahir's from Salford in the UK, who suffers from autism and cannot speak, also suffers from a rare form of a condition known as Pica.
The disorder, often featured on hit US TV show My Strange Addiction, means people feel compelled to eat non-food materials such as dirt or fabric.
For Zach, it means chewing on the furnishings in his home.
His mother Rachel constantly finds her son gnawing on parts of the family home, from the blinds to the walls.
"He eats almost anything – mud and moss, stones, carpet, grow bags, thread, paper, wallpaper and hair," she told the Manchester Evening News.
Rachel is forced to rip up celery and scatter peanuts in an attempt to distract her son, and is now trying to raise funds for a 'safe room', where Zach can't eat through the home.
Zach was diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties at age three, and experts believe his constant need to chew stems from a desire to stimulate his senses.
"People with autism often experience sensory difficulties," a spokewoman for Britain's National Autistic Society said.
"For some individuals, the texture or taste of inedible items may give positive sensory input."
Rachael needs to raise over $24,000 to build Zach's safe room.
