FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Fall River family is desperate to get a special tablet back that their 14-year-old daughter with autism uses to communicate.

James Casey, Sacred’s adoptive father, got a special augmentative communication tablet for her from the state because she is non-verbal.

“It took us almost two years to get this device. We had to jump through all kinds of hoops and fill out all kinds of paperwork and see all kinds of specialists,” said Casey.

The device uses picture icons that allows Sacred to form sentences before speaking for her.

“It’s part of our day-to-day routine. She plugs it in to charge it and she brings it to school every day. I can’t imagine how she is at school without it,” Casey said.

Casey’s car was parked on the street in Fall River Monday night.

When he got in it Tuesday morning, he could tell someone rummaged through it.

His tips from his job as a server were gone along with his 11-year-old daughter’s bag and Sacred’s Frozen-themed backpack with the tablet inside.

“I understand they may have thought it was a tablet at first, but once you turn it on, you’re not allowed to do anything else on it other than use it as a device,” explained Casey.

Sacred’s father has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the $5,000 it costs to get a new device.

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