In my view they need help not punishment. Parents arrested for using a desperate measure to contain a seriously autistic boy. Healthcare is not free at the point of delivery in the USA, as it is in the UK, and so they may not have been able to afford medical help. What is the situation in your country? What help would a family receive? What would be provided for a child with severe autism whose behaviour is violent and difficult to manage?

The parents of a severely autistic boy have been arrested after California police determined the 11-year-old had been kept in a cage. Authorities said the metal cage was found in the couple’s home in Anaheim with a mattress and other bedding inside. It was roughly 6ft (1.8m) tall, 5ft (1.5m) long and about 4ft (1.2m) wide with room to stand. The boy was not inside when police went to the house. Family members gave investigators varying accounts of how long he had been kept in it, ranging from hours to days.
Early indications were that the family had been having difficulty coping with the boy. It seems that as he grew older his episodes of violence and outbursts were increasing and his parents used the cage to contain him when that was happening,The boy’s severe autism means he cannot communicate and has violent outbursts, which have grown more violent over the years

The boy’s parents, identified by police as Loi Vu, 40, and Tracy Le, 35, were held on suspicion of felony child endangerment and false imprisonment. They are of Vietnamese origin, speak limited English, and investigators were using translators to sort out details in the case.
Officers went to the Anaheim home and arrested the parents after an anonymous tipster called Orange County Child Protective Services.
The child was well-nourished and appeared otherwise healthy and his two siblings, ages eight and 10, were also unharmed. They were all placed in protective custody.