Psychiatric services for acute mental illness in children are deplorably sparse. “There’s nothing,” said Billy Matthews, who lost his 12-year-old son to suicide. “We felt like we were blind, feeling around, and this is our son’s life.”
That autumn, Trevor’s challenges to authority intensified. Often, he’d be caught reading a book of his own during class and would refuse to put it away. Once, he was so disruptive that a teacher called Angela, who left work to collect him. Trevor was eventually called before the school’s Conduct Committee and reprimanded. In May, 2019, Angela had to tell Trevor that he would be leaving at the end of the school year. Trevor was distraught at being separated from his friends.
Gradually, though, he did start to tell friends and even submitted to a forensic interview with the department that had investigated the case. Angela took him out for sushi afterward. “That’s as fun as you can make that kind of thing,” she said wryly. He had a recurring nightmare in which Stolz was following him down Eighty-seventh Street. In another, he would have a feeling of foreboding, open a door, and confront Stolz’s face. “He was literally haunted by this guy,” Angela said.
Angela was terrified. “O.K., we’re in a different universe,” she recalled. “This is no longer ‘I’m sad.’ This is ‘Holy shit, he’s going to do something.’ ” Her father, a doctor, agreed. “You really need to go to the emergency room with Trevor, and you should do it now,” he said. “You’ve crossed the Rubicon.”
Youth suicides occur more often during the school year, when social and academic stresses are highest. A recent meta-analysis of studies on youth suicide found that a history of abuse and neglect was significantly associated with a higher rate of suicide attempts. Rates of suicide are also particularly high for children in care—three times higher than for children who live with their own families without legal supervision.
Billy and Angela took Trevor to a hospital near their Connecticut house. A triage nurse asked Trevor if he was thinking of suicide and he said, “Yeah, definitely.” He was held in the E.R. for two days, before being transferred to St. Vincent’s, in Westport. His parents were beginning to realize the inadequacy of psychiatric services for acute mental illness in children. “There’s nothing,” Billy said. “We felt like we were blind, feeling around. And this is our son’s life.
Although there was no more violence, Angela saw little improvement. “The process of being hospitalized as a child for suicidal behavior is itself traumatic,” she said. “It was terrifying for Trevor in the moment. It was terrifying for him afterwards.” He spent a month in what is known as a Partial Hospitalization Program, involving all-day treatment, which was followed by six weeks in an intermediate program.
Tennisha N. Riley, a developmental psychologist at Indiana University, cites a finding that the average Black adolescent experiences five instances of racial discrimination a day, just when he or she is becoming increasingly aware of racial identity. Discrimination aggravates mental-health vulnerabilities among youth already at risk, which, Riley says, can “exacerbate their inability to regulate emotions.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine immigrant wishes demise of Putin as child deaths rise in war-torn countryWomen around the world are trying to bring attention to the rising number of children being killed in the war in Ukraine. At a powerful march in Atlanta, women carried fake blood-stained sacks representing the kids' lives lost so far.
Read more »
Md. juvenile justice bills seek to ‘treat children as children’Goal is to reduce the chances of recidivism in adulthood.
Read more »
Biotech Stocks, Once Booming, Enter Bear TerritoryThe biotech stock index, which rose early in the pandemic, fell nearly 20% in the first quarter due to research failures, slowing M&A and rising interest rates.
Read more »
Phoenix Children's TelethonThe time to help children in need is now. Children battling life-threatening illnesses and injuries can’t wait for lifesaving care. Our telethon benefitting the kids of PhxChildrens is happening 4/13. You can pitch in now at PCHHeroes
Read more »
Average LA County gas price drops for 6th straight dayThe average price rose $1.283 during a 32-day streak of increases that ended last Sunday.
Read more »
How will San Francisco’s western skyline change to add 80,000 homes? - The San Francisco ExaminerThe neighborhoods slated for upzoning are all “well-resourced' — residents are typically wealthier, healthier and more educated. Yet these areas, which cover more than half of SF’s residential land, have produced only 10% of affordable housing since 2005.
Read more »