Mother speaks out after child with autism found wandering in ditch

More children may be at risks, mother says

KATY, Texas – The mother of a 2-year-old boy is speaking out after her son was found wandering in a ditch in Katy.

"I'm not sleeping, I keep having dreams of my son drowning," the child’s mother said.

Ana, the boy’s mom, has hired a lawyer, but she has not filed a lawsuit. Ana asked KPRC not use her last name or show her face because she's trying to protect her two year old son. 

The little boy, who has autism, was attending therapy sessions at the Katy Learning Center on Westheimer. The center is exclusive to kids with special needs.

"I trusted these people, I trusted them," Ana said.

Ana’s trust was broken in late March when her son — who can't speak — was discovered wandering away from the center without anyone noticing.  A neighbor found him playing in this ditch about a quarter mile from the school and only a few feet from this very busy intersection. 

Since then, Ana and her attorneys have come forward with brand new information. 

KPRC reached out to the director, more than once on Wednesday, but she never returned our calls or provided us with a statement.

Ana and her attorneys are investigating the incident and feel the learning center should be shut down. Ana said she and her lawyer have filed reports with the Fort bend County Sheriff’s Office and with CPS. 

She said text messages from the learning center workers prove this isn't the first time an incident like this has happened.

“He escaped again?” one worker wrote.

“He keep getting out thru that fence,” said a different text.

“It's gonna keep happening until they fix it,” read another.

The concerned mother said the worst part is she didn't find out about the incident until hours after it happened.  She believes they were trying to cover it up.  Ana said the proof is in the text messages.

One employee’s message said, “she not gonna find out, I bet.”

Meanwhile another suggest the center was to hide the incident.

"They need to be held accountable and people need to know," Ana said.  "As a mom, I don't want it to happen to another kid."