The Dapto family of an autistic woman has had a breakthrough in their efforts to have her cared for in the Illawarra.Autism sufferer Kate Southern, 35, has been pulling her hair out in clumps since being told she would have to relocate to a group home at Queanbeyan.Her family says she is at the point where she is almost bald and has bleeding welts on her scalp.Ms Southern lost her mother and primary carer Dorothy to brain cancer on November 25.A day earlier she was due to be relocated from her Dapto home because the Department of Ageing Disability and Homecare said they could not find a place for her in the Illawarra.Ms Southern's family became distressed at the decision and the physical and emotional impact it had. Their distress increased with notification the in-home respite funding through The Disability Trust would cease on December 22.Since the family's story was published in the Mercury last Saturday, Kate's sister, Jane Southern, said the family had had a "welcome" breakthrough."The department has told us a position would be found for Kate in the Illawarra in the next eight weeks," she said."In the interim, they've offered us one day of respite care a month and they've agreed to continue The Disability Trust funding."