A disabled Palmerston North man has lost the ability to communicate with his caregivers, friends, and family after his home was ransacked by burglars.

Rhys Bycroft, 19, who has cerebral palsy and cannot talk, went to Wellington to watch the Hurricanes v Chiefs rugby game on Friday night with his two caregivers but when they returned about 12.30am, his Lancaster St home in Highbury had been broken into.

The house was a mess - blankets were strewn over the floor, drawers and cupboards were open, plastic bags were everywhere and most of Mr Bycroft's belongings were gone.

A television, two stereos, a laptop, food, towels and two communication devices, which Mr Bycroft uses daily to interact with people, were stolen.

The devices, called DynaVox, are worth about $10,000 each and without them Mr Bycroft can say only "yes" or "no" using his eyes.

His father, Bruce Bycroft, said the burglary was devastating for everyone who cared for his son.

"They arrived home to find the place was trashed."

Bruce Bycroft said there were two communication devices, which looked like computer tablets, in the house because one of them was on loan as the device his son usually used had battery problems.

"The most important thing to Rhys was stolen [the means for him to communicate], which is the worst part about it.

"It was specially set up for him. It has thousands of phrases Rhys has used over the past four years stored on it. He now feels a bit unsafe at home."

Mr Bycroft lives on his own, but has two caregivers and attends Freyberg High School's Craig Centre.

"This is the only way Rhys can really communicate and vocalise what he wants to say," Bruce By croft said. "He uses it every day at school and at home. It's very special to Rhys. It's taken years to set it up."

The external hard drive for the device, which had backed up the software, was also stolen. "Having this returned is vital because it's so special to him, and it won't be useful to anyone else," he said.

"Without it there are limited things we can do with Rhys."

Information about the burglary or the whereabouts of the devices can be passed on to Palmerston North police on (06) 351 3600.