A 13-year-old Secaucus Middle School student died last Monday, Columbus Day, while schools were closed. As of Thursday, the Medical Examiner’s office was still trying to determine the cause of death. The Secaucus Police Department would not give any details of the incident last week, although there is speculation that the death may have been a suicide.
If true, this death would be the third by suicide in Secaucus in the last four months. In July, a woman jumped in front of an NJ Transit train at the Frank R. Lautenberg Station. Last month, a Harmon Cove Towers resident jumped from the 19th floor of his building.
Beginning Tuesday, grief counselors were on hand in the Secaucus High School/Middle School cafeteria, and school psychologists and social workers also were on hand throughout the week for additional student counseling.
The district promised to make similar resources available to parents who were concerned about helping their children through the grieving process.
In a letter sent home to parents of public school children in Secaucus, Schools Superintendent Cynthia Randina stated: “The staff and administrators of the Secaucus School District express our deepest condolences to this student’s family and friends.
“There is a movement now to make mental health screening part of a child’s annual physical with their pediatrician.” – Paula Clayton
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Often when we hear of another’s death, our own feelings about death surface. Children, like adults, begin to think of their own experiences with death and many feelings surface. These feelings may focus on the student who has died, the death of someone who has died in the past, an impending death, or anxiety about loss in general.”
“During the days and weeks ahead, you may find that your child is feeling confused or upset. Accepting and validating your child’s feelings is beneficial and will facilitate the process of helping your child cope with this tragedy.”
Warning signs
Speculation that the death may have been a suicide may have parents asking questions about signs of depression in their own children.
Irritability, moodiness, and a loss of interest in activities in a teenager could just be normal teen angst. But according to doctors at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), which recently opened a North Jersey chapter, it could also be symptoms of depression, especially if these symptoms continue for several weeks.
“If a parent notices these signs and it’s just a day or two, then that might be normal. But if you see these symptoms continuing for two weeks or longer, then it’s probably time make an appointment with the child’s pediatrician,” said Paula Clayton, MD, medical director of AFSP.
The pediatrician may seem like an unusual place to take a child who may be experiencing depression, but Clayton said last week it’s not.
“There is actually a movement now to make mental health screening part of a child’s annual physical with their pediatrician,” she said, “and pediatricians are being trained now to recognize signs of depression and suicidal tendencies in their patients.”
Clayton recommended that parents visit the web site www. MoreThanSad.com, and noted that New Jersey requires certified teachers to get some training in recognizing mental health problems in students.
Symptoms
Parents, and sometimes teachers, are often the first to see the early signs of depression, but may not recognize or properly label what they’re seeing.
In addition to irritability and loss of interest in daily activities, Clayton said additional signs include weight loss, a sense of hopelessness, and “a loss of joy, day in, and day out. Depression may be expressed in such statements such as, ‘I’m dumb.’ ‘Who would want to hang out with me?’ Parents may notice this real loss of joy in their child.”
Parents may take some comfort in knowing that suicides are very rare among elementary and middle school aged children. In 2006, the most recent year for which there is such data, there were 33,000 suicides in the U.S., but only 219 were among elementary and middle-school age kids.
Still, suicide is the leading cause of death among New Jerseyans ages 15 to 24 and the fifth leading cause of death among people 24 to 44. Boys are four times more likely to commit suicide than girls.
For more information, visit www.afsp.org, or call 1-888-333-AFSP. (Please note, this toll free number is not a suicide prevention hotline.)
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.