Suicide Prevention Month: Know the Signs

ACPS wants to make all staff aware of the services ACPS can offer to support our students. This month, as a way of recognizing Suicide Prevention Month, we want to highlight how you can identify possible warning signs among your students.

Preventing Youth Suicide: Tips for Parents/Guardians & Educators
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among school-age youth. However, suicide is preventable. Youth who are contemplating suicide frequently give warning signs of their distress. Parents/guardians, teachers and friends are in a key position to pick up on these signs and get help. Most important is to never take these warning signs lightly or promise to keep them secret. When all adults and students in the school community are committed to making suicide prevention a priority and are knowledgeable about the correct actions to take, we can help youth before they engage in behavior with irreversible consequences.

Suicide Risk Factors
Although far from perfect predictors, certain characteristics are associated with increased odds of having suicidal thoughts. These include:

Mental illness including depression, conduct disorders and substance abuse.
Family stress/dysfunction.
Environmental risks, including the presence of a firearm in the home.
Situational crises (e.g., traumatic death of a loved one, physical or sexual abuse, family violence).

Suicide Warning Signs
Most youth who are suicidal demonstrate observable behaviors that signal their suicidal thinking. These include:

Suicidal threats in the form of direct (“I am going to kill myself”) and indirect (“I wish I could fall asleep and never wake up again”) statements.
Suicide notes and plans (including text messages and online social media postings).
Prior suicidal behavior.
Making final arrangements (e.g., making funeral arrangements, writing a will or giving away prized possessions).
Preoccupation with death.
Changes in behavior, appearance, thoughts and/or feelings.

What to Do
Youth who feel suicidal are not likely to seek help directly; however, parents/guardians, school personnel and peers who recognize the warning signs can take immediate action to keep the youth safe. When a youth gives signs that they may be considering suicide, the following actions should be taken:

Remain calm.
Ask the youth directly if he or she is thinking about suicide (e.g., “Are you thinking of suicide?”).
Focus on your concern for their well-being and avoid being accusatory.
Listen.
Reassure them that there is help and they will not feel like this forever.
Do not judge.
Provide constant supervision. Do not leave the youth alone.
Remove means for self-harm.
Get help: No one should ever agree to keep a youth’s suicidal thoughts a secret. Instead, one should immediately tell an appropriate caregiving adult, such as a parent/guardian, teacher, school counselor, school psychologist, or school nurse. Parents/guardians should seek help from school or community mental health resources as soon as possible.

The Role of the School in Suicide Prevention
Children and adolescents spend a substantial part of their day in school under the supervision of school personnel. Effective suicide and violence prevention is integrated with supportive mental health services, engages the entire school community and is embedded in a positive school climate through student behavioral expectations and a caring and trusting student/adult relationship. Therefore, it is crucial for all school staff members to be familiar with, and watchful for, risk factors and warning signs of suicidal behavior.

Every school in ACPS is staffed with a team of qualified school professionals. A qualified school professional (QSP) includes professional school counselors, school nurses, school psychologists and school social workers. The QSP is trained to conduct interviews with students in order to informally assess the level of suicide risk, warn/inform parents/guardian, provide recommendations and referrals to community services and provide follow-up counseling and support at school.

Parental/Guardian Notification and Participation
Even if a youth is determined to be at low risk for suicidal behavior, schools may ask parents/guardians to sign a documentation to indicate that relevant information has been provided. Parental/guardian notifications must be documented. Additionally, parents/guardians are crucial members of a suicide risk assessment as they often have information critical to making an appropriate assessment of risk, including mental health history, family dynamics, recent traumatic events and previous suicidal behaviors. After a school notifies a parent/guardian of their child’s risk for suicide and provides referral information, the responsibility falls upon the parent/guardian to seek mental health assistance for their child.

Resiliency Factors
The presence of resiliency factors can lessen the potential of risk factors to lead to suicidal ideation and behaviors. Once a child or adolescent is considered at risk, schools, families, and friends should work to build these factors in and around the youth. These include:

Family support and cohesion, including good communication.
Peer support and close social networks.
School and community connectedness.
Cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide and promote healthy living.
Adaptive coping and problem-solving skills, including conflict-resolution.
General life satisfaction, good self-esteem, sense of purpose.
Easy access to effective medical and mental health resources.

If you would like any additional information on suicide prevention, please contact the Department of Student Services, Alternative Programs and Equity at 703-619-8034.