Whitman HS Suicide

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I miss JoJo.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

For those who would like to help the cause of mental illness treatment and suicide prevention in JoJo's memory, this family has published this:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Jordana-Greenberg&lc=4927&pid=187385370&mid=7659218

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who would like to help the cause of mental illness treatment and suicide prevention in JoJo's memory, this family has published this:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Jordana-Greenberg&lc=4927&pid=187385370&mid=7659218

Thank you for posting. So beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School counselor here. The irony (and this is for the PP) is that school counselors aren’t trained to do college counseling. High school counselors have to spend a lot of time on recommendations though and on helping kids with that. Counselors’ caseloads are absurd and they also are not all licensed professionals. Some are, and many have good instincts, but I personally believe that even though school counselors don’t do therapy in schools, they should be required to get some sort of mental health license. The training is more rigorous and would help them have a better sense of when to refer to outside professionals for more intense therapy. In the school setting, we can do groups and brief solution focused therapy and check ins, and we play an important role, but there aren’t nearly enough of us. We want to do right by kids but we don’t always even know all our kids. It’s so easy for someone to fall through the cracks. Support more counselors in schools. That kid is on the right path with his petition. And take the time to get to know your kid’s counselor. Make sure your child is on their radar, even if it’s just a periodic check in.

+1
Best comment on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who would like to help the cause of mental illness treatment and suicide prevention in JoJo's memory, this family has published this:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Jordana-Greenberg&lc=4927&pid=187385370&mid=7659218

Thank you for posting. So beautiful.

It is really beautiful, and hopefully people will read it and understand the message about how dangerous depression is, especially in teens. Even teens who are beautiful, popular, lively, have loving, attentive parents, family, and friends, and are happy at school.

[Anonymous]

How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

My reading is that they did know and were doing everything they could to help. You don't take 2 months out of school to go to wilderness rehab for the heck of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

My reading is that they did know and were doing everything they could to help. You don't take 2 months out of school to go to wilderness rehab for the heck of it.

In JoJo's case they knew; this was a long struggle. But it's a good question, as depression can show up in a variety of different ways. Hopefully some of the professionals on here can weigh in, but here's what looks like a good summary from the Mayo clinic. Symptoms can be all over the map, and a lot of them would be hard to sort out from regular teenage mood swings: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/teen-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20350985

Among the depressed teens we've known, several self-medicated with drugs or alcohol at some point during their illness. Others withdrew from friends and activities, some becoming obsessed with video games. A couple sent hopeless-sounding messages to their friends that freaked the recipients out enough to get parents involved.

One thing we've found helpful is to ask our teens from time to time how they are feeling about life in general. We ask their friends this when they are over as well. It is kind of amazing how much information teens will give to interested adults who are not their parents, and also interesting to see how observant they are under their cool exteriors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

My reading is that they did know and were doing everything they could to help. You don't take 2 months out of school to go to wilderness rehab for the heck of it.

That looked like a camp. Very different. Why keep mentioning it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

My reading is that they did know and were doing everything they could to help. You don't take 2 months out of school to go to wilderness rehab for the heck of it.

That looked like a camp. Very different. Why keep mentioning it.

In the essay she wrote for school (has since been taken down) she herself called it a wilderness rehabilitation program.

[Anonymous]

Please sign this petition for Jojo!
https://www.change.org/p/increase-resources-for-mental-health-support-for-students-in-all-schools-forjojo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How, as parents, can we tell if our kids are depressed when they can be so good at hiding it? The social worker PP talked about parents who are shocked and had no idea about their teen’s mental state before they attempted or committed suicide - and that scares me most of all. How can we know and what can we do?

It’s also scary how dangerous depression can be - that it can take a girl who is vital, vivacious, engaged in her community and who loved life in the way she did.

Reading about Jojo - she just sounds like such a special girl, who made everyone around her feel happy and connected.

My reading is that they did know and were doing everything they could to help. You don't take 2 months out of school to go to wilderness rehab for the heck of it.

That looked like a camp. Very different. Why keep mentioning it.

To show that sometimes parents do know. And do everything they can to get help, which is both hard and expensive. Other symptoms of depression in teens include changes in sleeping patterns (all the time or very little), dropping out of previously enjoyed activities, lack of engagement with friends, missing school.

[Anonymous]

I actually have a friend who went to camp with Jojo for rehab. I've heard firsthand stories about what it was like and i think u have it misinterpreted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s mental illness people, it’s not other people’s fault typically.
Stop harping about things you know nothing about.

It is mental illness but that doesn’t mean there is t fault. My child is currently hospitalized because he is suicidal. Trigger is mostly school pressure. I went to the school once a week at least to try to get supports only to be told my son was fine. But he’s not and he may have been had he received some supports. It’s not the only thing but it was definitely the straw that broke the camels back. So yes sometimes there is blame.

This. The environment matters.
“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, First make sure you are not, In fact, just surrounded by assholes.”?—?William Gibson

+1 to both of the above. Both reflect the experience we had with mental illness and MCPS.

DD was diagnosed with depression and missed a lot of school. We asked MCPS school for 504 plan. School denied, arguing that DD's grades were still As and Bs and DD was taking advanced classes. Told us DD would have to drop down to on level classes and get Cs or below before DD could be eligible for a 504 plan and any accommodations. This is NOT the correct legal standard for a 504 plan, and we told the school that during the meetings.

The whole 504 problem took over 4 months to resolve. It became very ugly, with teachers docking DD's grades for absences or "late" work, even though DD had excused absences for which we had provided documentation by a physician, and berating her for her absences. In addition, teachers refused to allow DD to do same assignments as the rest of the class, and began to assign her alternative assignments, which she had not asked for, thereby (illegally) excluding her from the regular classroom environment. At no time did DD ask for or need any changes to the work assigned. She just asked for extended timelines/flexibility in deadlines to complete the work.

DD's health plummeted. As parents this put us in a very difficult position -- is it better to support your DC in a fight (which is stressful) or to encourage them to not fight and give in and take the bad grades and classes they don't want (which is also stressful).

This situation did not get resolved until we informed the school that we were hiring legal counsel. Then, miraculously, the school informed us that they were wrong. It still took another 2 months to sort out the plan and get all teachers on board.

PP, if you had a formal diagnosis when you went to school in MCPS and asked for help, I encourage you to pursue an IEP or 504 or home and hospital teaching, as appropriate, and file a formal complaint, in writing, with MCPS (either the section 504 county-wide supervisor or the head of special education). Re-file your request for support in writing, asking for either an IEP or 504.

School was definitely at fault in our situation, and I was genuinely worried for DD's mental stability as a result. All professionals involved (psychiatrist and psychologist) recommended that DD be allowed to continue in her current classes and that 504 should be fought for. When DD is "safe" from school retaliation, we will consider filing complaint/suit and encourage others to do the same.

I am concerned that kids in school are not getting appropriate support. I am not saying this is the problem that this particular woman experienced or that it contributed to her suicide (if that is what it was), but I am saying that it is a problem for many students. It is very easy to say, that child had fill in the blank, which was the real cause of the problem not the school. But kids with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse problems, etc., are legally entitled to some forms of support at school if their illness is affecting their education (which it often does). When schools refuse to provide support, it can be devastating to students, exacerbating their illness.

I am sorry to hear this. We had a similar situation and the MoCo counselors are so stretched with triaging learning disability and esol that we had to pay through the nose for help. This county is too big and prioritizes it’s initiatives/ offerings based on income level or LD not need or severity of a health or speech or behavior issue, particularly if a white collared parent brings the child for testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually have a friend who went to camp with Jojo for rehab. I've heard firsthand stories about what it was like and i think u have it misinterpreted.

I hope your friends is doing okay.