Just before his untimely passing at the age of 11, Joshua Sikes expressed his final poignant desire.
The young boy, who had autism, passed away in his sleep in November 2024, following “brain death from the brain injury sustained from the head trauma that occurred in the classroom”.
Just days before his passing, Joshua’s mother, Julie Xirau, claimed that her son had been “restrained and isolated” in what was described as a “makeshift classroom confinement” constructed with bookcases, bookshelves, and sturdy straps meant to limit students’ mobility.
It was during this alleged confinement on October 31 that the grieving mother recounts her son lying down and starting to kick and “strike his head on the ground”. In a legal action against special education provider Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP), Julie asserts that staff members “stood by and did nothing” to aid the child.
She further alleges that the employees failed to inform her of his injuries when she arrived to pick him up at 2pm, having been informed of his “misbehavior” in class.
On that Halloween evening, Joshua, like many other kids, had wished to go trick-or-treating. Regrettably, this wish was unfulfilled. Trusting the version of events relayed by the staff, Julie, from Virginia Beach, in the state of Virginia, informed Joshua that he couldn’t go, leaving him “heartbroken”.
Due to Joshua’s limited speech abilities, the disappointed child couldn’t communicate “the truth about the terrible treatment he endured</