Llandilo student with severe ADHD hit by car

A 15-year-old student from the Llandilo School of Special Education in Westmoreland remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital as of last night, after being struck by a vehicle on the Nonpariel main road in Negril on Monday afternoon.

The teen, identified as Sheldon Graham, was captured in a video circulating on social media repeatedly dashing across the busy main road before the tragic incident occurred. The event has left the community in shock and has reignited concerns about the safety and supervision of children with special needs.

Roy Reid, principal of the Llandilo School of Special Education, told The Gleaner that Graham, whose mother was too distraught to speak, has been among the more challenging students at the institution.

“Sheldon, he was 15 years old and he had severe ADHD and some communication issues, too,” Reid explained. “He was definitely not an easy student to deal with.”

The school, which caters to children with autism, ADHD, Down’s Syndrome, and other developmental delays, provides specialised programmes for those whose intellectual assessments place them below certain thresholds.

Reid, who has spent four decades working with special-needs children both locally and overseas, said Graham’s case stood out among the more difficult ones he had encountered.

According to Reid, Graham’s ability to function safely depends heavily on him receiving his prescribed medication.

“The medication would calm him down because he’s very hyperactive when he’s not on medication,” the principal said. “It’s extremely difficult to keep him in school, so that he’s safe and other children are safe, when he’s not on medication.”

The principal confirmed that Graham left school before the regular dismissal time on Monday.

“His driver turned up before 12 o’clock,” he said. “He got lunch early in order to go with his driver, which is a private one arranged by his parents.”

While the school day officially ends at 2:30 p.m., Reid said there are instances where Graham is picked up early, particularly on days when he appears unsettled.

EARLY PICKUP

“I did recommend to the teacher assistant that they need to call the parent to pick him up because that’s what we do when we suspect that he’s not on medication,” he noted.

Meanwhile, residents of Nonpariel who witnessed the tragedy told The Gleaner that Graham had been in the area for some time before the accident occurred.

“The little kid was standing on the white line, running across the road over and over,” said one eyewitness. “The lady that was with him did not send him home. He didn’t want to go home, so he went across and came back, and he stood up on the white line again.”

Another resident, Lotasha Dunn, said she spent much of the afternoon trying to keep Graham safe and calm.

“He said, ‘I want a bottle of water’, so I said, ‘I’m going to buy you the bottle of water and you’re going to drink it and go home’.”

Dunn said she gave the child money and urged him to head home, but he refused to leave.

“He went (over) there, (and) he gauged the white line … . Each time the vehicle passed on the opposite side, he would gauge the opposite white line,” she said.

Graham’s behaviour drew concern from many in the community.

An eyewitness, who helped rush Graham to the hospital, said she had heard the boy expressing troubling thoughts earlier that day.

She said community members scrambled to get Sheldon to the hospital after the accident.

“Me ask for help, ask a taxi driver to call for help,” she said.

Reportedly, there had been two other accidents at the same time in the Negril area, one of which was metres away from the scene where Graham got hurt. The limited emergency services were allegedly unable to manage all three incidents.

“It wasn’t the ambulance carry we. It was a Voxy from Nonpariel that bring we to the hospital where we wait until him mother and father come,” the witness recalled.

Meanwhile, Dunn emphasised that the community did what it could to protect the boy. “He’s obviously on the spectrum, so he’s a difficult child,” she said. “A lot of persons aren’t even prepared to deal with those kinds of things. But we tried.”

As of yesterday evening, Graham remained in critical condition at hospital. Investigations are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Meanwhile, Reid said the school community is shaken.

“It’s heartbreaking,” he said quietly. “When you’ve worked with these children for years, every one of them becomes family. We just pray he pulls through.”

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com