Canberra boy, 10, fought so violently to resist 'calm-down' cage he broke the lock

A 10-year-old boy with autism was so irate when forcibly placed in a metal cage at his Canberra school that he struggled so violently he broke the lock.

His parents — who have not been named and asked for their son's identity and school not to be published — say the boy was forcibly placed in the 2m by 2m metal cage on a handful of occasions last year, Fairfax Media reports.

The school had sought permission to restrain the child but it was not given by the family, Fairfax says.

The cage was reportedly intended as a calm-down and quiet space for the student, built on March 10 and dismantled two weeks later after a complaint by the boy's parents.

He was reportedly forced to change schools as a result of being isolated.

The ACT Education Directorate has never apologised for the child's treatment, Fairfax reports.

The new details have been revealed after the disturbing case sparked a push for a United Nations investigation into potential human rights violations of 55 students with disabilities at schools in Australia.

Fairfax Media reports 93 percent of the students had been diagnosed with autism and 28 say they had been held in areas similar to the blue cage.