Post by misty on Jan 6, 2007 18:05:19 GMT -5
Charlie Girl..........Thread Started on Feb 11, 2006, 11:41am
My son's favorite thing to do after he feels he has been humiliated in school is to threaten to kill himself. I looked this up and thought I would share my findings since it is common with children with disabilities.
CHILDREN'S THREATS: WHEN ARE THEY SERIOUS?
No. 65 Updated (01/02)
Every year there are tragedies in which children shoot and kill individuals after making threats. When this occurs, everyone asks themselves, "How could this happen?" and "Why didn't we take the threat seriously?"
Most threats made by children or adolescents are not carried out. Many such threats are the child's way of talking "big" or tough, or getting attention. Sometimes these threats are a reaction to a perceived hurt, rejection, or attack.
What threats should be taken seriously?
Examples of potentially dangerous or emergency situations with a child or adolescent include:
threats or warnings about hurting or killing someone
threats or warnings about hurting or killing oneself
threats to run away from home
threats to damage or destroy property
read the rest here: www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/65.htm
cynthiatweedle
So far my granddaughter has not threatened in that way, though on occasion she has talked about running away. I handled it in similar way that I would if a person were suicidal.
I brought up all the things she cared about, her dog, her sister, her parents, me and her other grandmother. By the time I went through the list, she was thinking more about us than running away. Mainly she wanted to know if we loved her. Once that is established, then I would work on a solution, mainly helping her change her perspective, sometimes just changing the subject, "are you hungry, let me fix you something to eat, then we'll do such and such" to get her back into the every day routine that feels safe.
I think it has taught her that no matter how big something seems, the way she feels can change pretty fast. The key is to remind her of that. "You won't be upset long, you never are" or something like that. She is young enough she buys it. And that's all she wants is to get back to normal. I'm sure it would be more difficult with teenagers, which I am not looking forward to.
My son's favorite thing to do after he feels he has been humiliated in school is to threaten to kill himself. I looked this up and thought I would share my findings since it is common with children with disabilities.
CHILDREN'S THREATS: WHEN ARE THEY SERIOUS?
No. 65 Updated (01/02)
Every year there are tragedies in which children shoot and kill individuals after making threats. When this occurs, everyone asks themselves, "How could this happen?" and "Why didn't we take the threat seriously?"
Most threats made by children or adolescents are not carried out. Many such threats are the child's way of talking "big" or tough, or getting attention. Sometimes these threats are a reaction to a perceived hurt, rejection, or attack.
What threats should be taken seriously?
Examples of potentially dangerous or emergency situations with a child or adolescent include:
threats or warnings about hurting or killing someone
threats or warnings about hurting or killing oneself
threats to run away from home
threats to damage or destroy property
read the rest here: www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/65.htm
cynthiatweedle
So far my granddaughter has not threatened in that way, though on occasion she has talked about running away. I handled it in similar way that I would if a person were suicidal.
I brought up all the things she cared about, her dog, her sister, her parents, me and her other grandmother. By the time I went through the list, she was thinking more about us than running away. Mainly she wanted to know if we loved her. Once that is established, then I would work on a solution, mainly helping her change her perspective, sometimes just changing the subject, "are you hungry, let me fix you something to eat, then we'll do such and such" to get her back into the every day routine that feels safe.
I think it has taught her that no matter how big something seems, the way she feels can change pretty fast. The key is to remind her of that. "You won't be upset long, you never are" or something like that. She is young enough she buys it. And that's all she wants is to get back to normal. I'm sure it would be more difficult with teenagers, which I am not looking forward to.
