A local news station this week reported a truck driver helped police save the life of a teen boy who jumped from an overpass.\u00a0 The driver stopped the truck under the overpass and the boy landed on top of the trailer.\u00a0 This saved the young man\u2019s life.\u00a0 It was reported the boy was getting help.<\/p>\n
Within the last few weeks two survivors of the Parkland, Florida, high school massacre committed suicide. A girl suffered survivor\u2019s guilt and post-traumatic stress.\u00a0 A boy committed suicide a short time later.<\/p>\n
The high school freshman told me she wanted to kill herself.\u00a0 She had been depressed in junior high and had worked consistently with the counselor.\u00a0 The counselor, the girl, and the parents thought she was doing well.\u00a0\u00a0 She told me the depression gradually returned.\u00a0 When suicide ideation became something she could not ignore, she knew she needed help. Even though her parents spoke English, I knew they would revert to their first language under stress. I needed help.\u00a0 I immediately called my colleague who came immediately.\u00a0 I was mainly a listener from that point on.\u00a0 It was ultimately decided to admit the student for residential treatment at a facility in McAllen. I helped with phone calls and paperwork.\u00a0 She was admitted by early evening.<\/p>\n
Whenever a news report states a young person ran or rode a bicycle in front of a car, I wonder if it was accidental or intentional.\u00a0 I remember a kindergarten boy pacing rapidly around the school library.\u00a0 The principal was near the door.\u00a0 We were both trying to soothe the boy. He kept telling us to let him out.\u00a0 He was going to kill himself.\u00a0 His words were, \u201cI am going to run in front of a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boy was different.\u00a0 He knew he was different.\u00a0 He did not want to be different.\u00a0 He had ADHD.\u00a0 He wanted to sit, focus, and do his work like the other children. He could not.\u00a0 He began his kindergarten year at a private school in Harlingen.\u00a0 The atmosphere there was sit down, be quiet, and do your work.\u00a0 He was always in trouble.\u00a0 His parents transferred him to our district hoping that the situation would be different. Our teachers and paraprofessionals were more flexible and open to accommodate him.\u00a0 They would allow breaks and movement. We were a team, and we all wanted to help him.\u00a0 I felt it was part of my job to build self- esteem in every child.\u00a0 I wanted him to appreciate his uniqueness.\u00a0 I wanted all of the children to respect the uniqueness of their peers.\u00a0 In time the boy began to enjoy coming to school and began to feel that he was doing well.<\/p>\n
The third- grade girl cried as she told me why she had tried to kill herself.\u00a0 I can still hear her saying, \u201cCause I don\u2019t got no things.\u201d\u00a0 Her parents\u2019 relationship was rocky.\u00a0 One day it was good.\u00a0 The next day it was divorce time.\u00a0 She had been in our school district until several months earlier when her Dad took a job in another town.\u00a0 After an argument, her mom gathered up a few clothes and left. All other belongings were left behind.\u00a0 They had returned several days before the girl\u2019s attempt.\u00a0 She had watched a TV show in which a man killed himself by falling on a knife.\u00a0 She tried it.\u00a0 Fortunately, she used a plastic knife and it broke.\u00a0 Her grandmother had a supervisory position with the school district.\u00a0 I called her.\u00a0 (I did make sure her mom did not have a telephone.)\u00a0 Her grandmother came for her, and she spent the remainder of the school day in her grandmother\u2019s office.\u00a0 They went shopping.\u00a0 She got new clothes, toiletries, toys and other things she wanted.\u00a0 She had \u201cthings.\u201d\u00a0 The parents agreed that the girl could live with her grandmother.\u00a0 She became a happy third grader.<\/p>\n
Times were simpler for those young people.\u00a0 There are more stressors today.\u00a0 There are also more resources for help.\u00a0 Many young people suffer in silence and do not get the help they need.\u00a0 They need to be assured that they do not have to go through difficult times alone.\u00a0 Parents and teachers should be alert to such things as loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed, declining grades, withdrawal from friends, neglect of personal appearance, etc.\u00a0 Suicide indicators are easily found on the internet as are suicide hotline numbers. \u00a0We all need to be aware of suicide indicators. \u00a0Talk to the young people in your life!\u00a0 Give them permission to talk to you without judgment or reproach. Even those who seem O.K. may have problems they are hesitant to share.\u00a0 Do your part to keep our young people safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A local news station this week reported a truck driver helped police save the life of a teen boy who jumped from an overpass. The driver stopped the truck under the overpass and the boy landed on top of the trailer. This saved the young man’s life. It was reported the boy was getting help. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[290,292,291,289],"class_list":["post-974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1987-to-2000","tag-adhd","tag-keeping-young-people-safe","tag-suicide-indicators","tag-teen-suicide"],"yoast_head":"\n