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London, Ont., boy rescued from 'squalid' house a 'child with resilience'

London police update public on the 10-year-old child locked in a room for 18-24 months.

A 10-year old boy rescued from horrific living conditions in London, Ont., told police there are two things he really wants — some regular food and to go school — signs that he is a "child with resilience," the Children's Aid Society says.

The boy, who police say had been locked in a squalid bedroom for at least 18 months and was wearing urine-soaked pyjamas when they found him Friday, is now in foster care.

"The fact that the first thing he wanted was to go to school, I think, is a very positive sign that this is a child with resilience," Jane Fitzgerald, executive director of the Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex, told CBC News on Saturday.

The boy is now with caretakers who specialize in looking after children who have been traumatized.

"He's sleeping well, eating well [and] he's interacting with some of the other children in the foster home."

The boy was malnourished after living on fast food in the garbage-strewn home.

The boy's aunt and uncle are now charged with failing to provide the necessities of life and forcible confinement.

The two also have a nine-year-old daughter who`s in the care of the Children's Aid Society as well. Their names are being withheld to protect the identity of the children.

Fitzgerald says the girl is doing well and "also socializing with the other children in her foster home."

She says the children have medical appointments the next week. The CAS will also go to court next week to seek an order of protection to make sure the boy remains in the organization's care.

Police say the boy had lived with his aunt an uncle since coming to Canada in 2010.

They say his parents live outside the country and they have been unable to contact them.

The boy was discovered after an anonymous tip to Children's Aid. An aid worker visited the house, but no one was home. She saw the silhouette of the boy through the curtain and called police.

Police said the boy has never been to school and speaks minimal English. He was not born in Canada, they believe. His biological parents are not in Canada at the moment. Police are not releasing the boy's country of origin because it might identify him.

The couple facing charges have a biological child,a nine-year-old girl, who was also living in the house at the time. That child is also now in the care of Children's Aid. Police said there is no evidence that the couple's biological child was confined inside the house.

Police said the boy had access to a toilet and shower, but that the entire house was "filthy."

"In the bedroom there was feces, urine. The bed was soaked in urine, as was the child's pyjamas when he was found," said London Police Det. Insp. Kevin Heslop.

The boy was fed fast food twice a day, but not usually permitted to leave the room. Police suspect the boy may have been let out of the room briefly in 2013.

"I think he spent a lot of time sleeping," noted Fitzgerald. "There was a window in the room, so I think that's how he was, at least, somewhat connected to the world."

Neighbours expressed shock upon learning of the boy's existence.

"My heart was broken. I couldn't believe it," one neighbour said. "I felt so sad because I walk by the house everyday. The little boy could have been waving for help and I didn't know."

In a news release, police said they've had no previous dealings with the occupants of the house. However, in 2007 the Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex had "brief contact" with the family regarding another child who no longer lives in the home.