tom, aged nine, struggled to explain his persistent stealing to his playworker.'I needed something... so I stole it...'
'What did you need?'
'Dunno... it's not the stuff I nicked... it's like inside...'
As confused as Tom, she recounted the paltry objects he was stealing. The latest haul was typical - a felt-tip pen, a well-chewed eraser and half a ball of sting. What was worrying was not only that Tom was taking such things, but that he was hoarding them in secret piles both at home and in club.
She had been diffident about raising the matter with Tom's grandmother, who had cared for him since his mother died when he was four years old. On one hand, the items seemed too trivial to worry about, but on the other, the very lack of value and the fact that Tom seemed impelled to keep taking them and hoarding them as treasure, was a cause for concern.
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