Depression, Suicide, and Computer Science Education

Note: If you or anyone you know are experiencing signs of depression or suicidal ideation, please reach out to local healthcare professionals or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

In honor of national suicide prevention week, in this week’s episode I read a paper I wrote on the topic of depression, suicide, and computer science education. This paper is formatted into the following sections: 1) A vignette on my own experiences coping with depression and suicide; 2) Statistics on depression and suicide as it relates to various populations computer science educators work with; 3) A vignette of a computer science educator helping a student through depression and suicidal thoughts; 4) Risk factors and warning signs; 5) Suggestions for providing support; 6) A vignette from a computer science educator's perspective on a student who committed suicide; and 7) Closing thoughts.

Learn more about National Suicide Prevention Month/Week/Day.

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Welcome back to another episode of the
CSK8 podcast
my name is jared o'leary this week's
unpacking scholarship episode is
actually myself
reading a paper that i have modified
that i originally wrote and presented
for a conference in 2017.
so the this episode is titled depression
suicide and computer science education
now the reason why i'm releasing this
particular episode on this date
is because september in 2020 is national
suicide prevention month
this week that this is releasing is
national suicide prevention week
and september 10th of 2020 is world
suicide prevention day
now just as a disclaimer in the show
notes and in every slide of the youtube
video that this is
being displayed on is a link to the
national suicide prevention lifeline
which is 1-800-273-8255
and again this is in the show notes and
it is in every single slide if you're
watching this on
the youtube channel and
if you are at all experience any signs
of depressions
or suicidality i highly recommend
reaching out to either that number or
some other
healthcare professional who can help you
now as i mentioned
some slides on the youtube link so this
session is a little bit different
i am not going to be editing this
particular podcast episode so if i mess
up saying sentence
i'll restate it if the doorbell rings i
will ignore it
if things get
raw in terms of emotion i will do my
best to try
and speak clearly because
i have not yet been able to read through
this paper
without kind of breaking down at some
point either by getting choked up or
just
straight up crying and the reason why
i'm sharing this to you raw
and unedited is because i want you to
see that
this is an important topic and it is
something that we need to talk about and
i don't want to hide my emotions around
this topic
from anybody because this is something
that has
impacted the majority of my life
i also want to note that in the second
and third
vignettes in this particular episode i
use the singular they
and its derivative there along with
gender neutral pseudonyms to maintain
anonymity within this paper so these
vignettes are compilations of various
students
i'm aware of and stories and teachers
and are not intended to represent any
single educator
student or story
okay so with all that being said i'm
going to start with the paper itself
and again on the youtube channel if you
watch the youtube version it has
some slides that kind of emphasize with
some visuals
some of the key important things about
this however you can listen to the
entire episode in podcast format
and it should hopefully make sense as
long as i can clearly articulate what it
is
that i am saying
okay so the purpose of this paper is to
spread
awareness about depression and suicide
in order to help computer science
educators
support students with coping with
depression and suicidal ideation
the subject matter within this paper is
deeply personal to me
and has been difficult to write about i
spent the larger part of a decade coping
with suicidal ideation and depression
however i have used my experiences to
help others
through depression and suicidal thoughts
and hope this paper encourages
current listeners or viewers to do the
same
this paper is formatted into the
following sections
one a vignette on my own experiences
coping with depression and suicide
two statistics on depression and suicide
as it relates to various populations
computer science educators work with
and three a vignette of a computer
science educator helping a student
through depression and suicidal thoughts
four risk factors and warning signs
five suggestions for providing support
six a vignette from a computer science
educator's perspectives
on a compu student who committed suicide
and seven some closing thoughts so again
i want to reiterate that this is a heavy
topic
and if you ever need support reach out
to a mental health care
professional or simply contact
which in the united states is the
national suicide prevention lifeline
okay vignette one jared that's me
so i spent months thinking about how i
would kill myself
i frequently debated the likelihood of
success
amount of cleanup and how much my
decision might affect others
with my dad being a police officer and
former swat team member
a gun may have provided a quick method
for achieving my goals
however i honestly had no idea if he
even owned a gun
as i seldom saw him with one pills or
chemicals provided the
opportunity to kill myself from the
inside out but i was afraid my stomach
would reject
such poisons and failure was not an
option
i was worried cutting my wrists would
affect my ability to play the drums
which is an ironic concern considering
the intended result
on several occasions while driving by
myself i debated shifting lanes into
oncoming highway traffic
despite my mental instability i reasoned
it was unfair to take from others what i
wanted to take from myself
i tried killing myself through pure
exhaustion by pushing myself to extremes
walking across streets without looking
in either directions
or simply crying myself to sleep hoping
i would never wake
after months of ideating i settled on a
method
most teenagers i knew seemed to pay
little attention to the concrete medians
used to protect vehicles from falling
off raised freeway overpass entrances
the concrete divides scattered across
long straightaways
often utilize crash barriers to lessen
the impact of a potential collision
although the intended although intended
for safer driver conditions
these concrete medians became my method
of choice for completing suicide
the concrete divide i was unfalteringly
careening toward
on a now unknown evening contained no
such life-saving technologies
and had a long straightaway serving as
my runway into non-existence
i gripped the steering wheel screamed a
long obscenity
and applied more pressure to the gas
pedal
my car's engine could assist with the
process no more than it already had
i took a deep breath and unbuckled my
seatbelt
its design purpose lowered the success
rate of my plan
my car's engine was straining to keep up
with the heavy foot on the pedal
the speedometer was reaching its limits
well over 100 miles per hour
although slightly obscured by a muddle
of tears and headlights from oncoming
traffic
in the opposing lane my carefully
selected target was in sight
my internal struggles would finally be
over
in hindsight there are no immediately
identifiable risk factors correlated
with a few times i nearly attempted
suicide as previously described
despite my chronic depression i had a
happy childhood with great parents
friends and family members my likelihood
for attempting suicide increased slowly
over the years
as my depression worsened first one
reason and then another
chipping away my resolve to live
compounding my desire to die
these thoughts consumed my time and
energy more than i tried to let on
and i morphed into a walking shell of a
human being whose existence
was devoted to whatever could keep my
mind occupied
largely music and video games
i was fortunate to have started
percussion lessons and banned classes a
little over a year prior to onset of my
gradual descent into depression and
suicidal ideation
although i love making music for music's
sake practicing rudimental percussion
became one of my coping mechanisms
music making allowed me to temporarily
suppress my thoughts of self-harm
so i found ways to practice as much as i
could
for example i carried a spring-loaded
doorknob in my pocket so i could work on
left-hand rotation for traditional grip
while walking between classes practice
technique i learned in high school from
a world champion snare drummer
so it must be good right i even had a
pair of drumsticks i kept in my car
so i could drum on the steering wheel at
red lights
on the few occasions where a door knob
or sticks were not in my hands
i utilized visualization techniques to
mentally practice
various exercises and show music each
moment absorbed in developing my
abilities and understandings as a
musician
was a moment away from thoughts of
self-harm
my experiences with music literally
saved my life
although practicing temporarily
suppressed my thoughts of self-harm
and working with other musicians
provided a sense of belonging
where i otherwise felt disconnected or
unknown
some of the music instruction i received
exacerbated my thoughts of self-harm
in particular some of the music
educators would joke
about how a particular musical passage
sounded so bad that quote
they would rather throw themselves off
the top of the stadium than listen to
another repetition
end quote these jokes
resurfaced my own thoughts of self-harm
in an environment where i sought to
escape them
in another ensemble i was required to
participate in for school
one of the instructors treated me in a
manner that led to my psychiatrist
prescribing anxiety medication
to help diminish the severe anxiety
attacks i had before each of our
required rehearsals
unfortunately incidents like these were
not isolated
nor were they infrequent
ultimately it is because of my amazing
experiences with music and education
and some of the unfortunate instruction
that accompany these experiences
i decided to pursue degrees in music
education
and eventually work in computer science
education in order to help others who
might experience similar struggles as i
it is with this paper i hope to expand
awareness of the pervasiveness of
suicidality
and depression among the students we
work with so our field can work together
to help those who feel alone with their
struggles
the following section describes
statistics on suicidal ideation and
depression in school-aged youth
so to statistics on suicide
worldwide suicide is leading cause of
mortality for adolescents
as an estimated 800 000 people
complete suicide each year averaging to
or one completed suicide every 45
seconds
suicide is one of the leading causes of
death among all ages in the united
states
and is among the top three causes of
death for u.s
teens more teens and young adults
die by suicide than from all other
illnesses combined
according to a report from the centers
for disease control and prevention
in the united states
this averages to 12.6 suicides per 100
suicide every 13 minutes
however suicidality is even more
pervasive than these numbers appear
as some estimate there are 100 to 200
attempts
for every completed youth suicide and
others note
childhood death by suicide are
underreported due to a reluctance to
indicate
a child completed suicide
a 2013 nationwide study by the cdc
indicates
one in six high school students
seriously considered suicide
one in seven students created a plan for
committing suicide
one in 13 students reported trying to
commit suicide
and 1 in 37 students made an attempt
requiring medical attention in the year
preceding a survey
a 2007 youth risk behavior survey
reported
similar slightly smaller percentages
while adolescents between ages 12 and 17
have a national suicide rate of 5.18
suicides per 100 000 people youth
between
ages 5 and 11 have a national suicide
rate of 0.17 suicides per 100
different demographics
so for example worldwide 4.1
females per 100 000 complete suicide
while 10.5 males per 100 000 complete
suicide
and i don't have data outside of that
false binary so my apologies for that
in china southern india and singapore
this tendency is reversed
for ages five through fourteen one in
every two thousand females
or one in every one thousand one hundred
eleven males commits suicide each year
in the united states adolescent females
are more likely to report suicidal
ideation
while adolescent males are four times
more likely to die by suicide
for example in the united states between
and 2012 553 boys
and 104 girls completed suicide
suicidal ideation or the thoughts of
harming or killing oneself
in adolescence is somewhere between 12
and 30 percent
and peaks around 12 years of age for
boys and 14 years of age for girls
between 1993 and 1997 suicide ranked
as cause of death among black children
aged 5 through 11
but ranked 9th between 2008 and 2012.
among hispanic students in grades 9
through 12
committing suicide
one in six students created a plan for
committing suicide
one in nine students reported trying to
commit suicide
and one in 24 students made an attempt
requiring medical attention
in the year preceding a survey
native and indigenous ethnic minority
teenagers between the ages of 15
and 19 tend to have a higher suicide
rate in new zealand
australia canada and the united states
in australia indigenous teenage females
were 5.8 times more likely to complete
suicide than non-indigenous peers
with a rate of 18.7 suicide suicides per
suicides per 100 000 non-indigenous
people
indigenous males were 4.4 times more
likely to complete suicide than
non-indigenous peers
with 43.4 suicides per 100 000
indigenous people compared with 9.9
suicides per 100
states
native american and alaskan teenagers
are 1.7 times more likely to die by
suicide
method for suicide varies by access to
means gender
and age in the united states the three
leading methods of suicide among youth
were
firearms hanging and poisoning
firearms was the method of choice in 45
of suicide cases however the cdc notes
firearms was not the most common method
for males
excuse me however the cdc notes firearms
was
the most common method for males while
poisoning was the most common method for
females
in most other western countries the most
common method
are hanging and suicide by vehicular
exhaustion
followed by suicide by firearms and
poisoning
in some eastern countries pesticides are
the predominant
method of choice while some believe
stricter gun and pesticide laws
assist with decreasing suicide rates
others believe such restrictions
lead to substitutions for other methods
for example
in children age 5-11 hanging or
suffocation were the most prevalent
method of suicide between 1993
and 2012. accounting for 514 of the 657
reported deaths by suicide
a survey of teachers in queensland
australia revealed
one in three teachers were exposed to at
least one student committing suicide
during their tenure as a classroom
teacher
of these teachers nearly one half were
exposed to one
student's suicide
one in four were exposed to two student
suicides
and one in three were exposed to three
or more
student suicides the suicide statistics
among school-aged children present a
need for classroom teachers and support
staff to be
aware of risk factors warning signs and
methods
for support however studies on teachers
knowledge of suicide indicate many feel
underprepared to help others through
suicidal ideation
so let's talk about stats of depression
so feeling depressed differs from
clinical depression
clinical depression lasts at least two
weeks in length and may include a
variety of
detrimental symptoms a typical
depressive episode among children and
adults
lasts between seven and nine months with
a 40
recurrence rate within two years and a
however chronic depression can exist for
years
unlike adults depressed children are
less likely to engage in serious suicide
attempts
but instead demonstrate other symptoms
these symptoms can negatively impact a
person's life
for example depressed adolescents are
high school
and 6 percent less likely to enroll in
college than those without depression
unlike suicidal acts requiring medical
treatment depression can remain
unnoticed or under-reported
as many people suffering from depression
do not seek treatment
for example riston found nearly one in
eight university music students who
responded to a survey received treatment
for depression
however one in 11 of those suffering
from depression
symptoms did not seek treatment the
tendency for people suffering from
depression symptoms to not seek
treatment
may contribute to discrepancies in
reported rates of depression among
various populations
depression affects nearly 340 million
people worldwide
including 18 million people in the
united states
callan halen and pascar estimate between
and one in 11 adolescents ages 12 to 18
have major depression while brent and
brimah suggest about one in 20 students
and one in 100 of children have
depression
others estimate comparable ranges among
children and teenagers
however mariette all suggests by the age
of 19
between a fifth and a quarter of young
people have suffered from a depressive
disorder
major depressive disorders among
children occurs at the same rates for
girls and boys
whereas adolescent and adult females are
twice as likely to have depression than
males
however females are 60 more likely to
receive treatment than males
and black adolescents are 50 percent
less likely to receive
treatments again different demographics
matter
given the pervasiveness of both
depression and suicidality computer
science educators
are likely to encounter students who
could benefit from a helping hand
the following vignette describes how
computer science educator helped a
student
vignette 2 chris and elliot
it is amazing how context can alter
one's perception of time
chris was making the same relatively
boring drive they made multiple times
during the week
from an outsider's perspective the trip
might appear as any other
however today's trip had urgency that
stretched time in an almost tauntingly
manner
it was shortly after school when chris
was updating their website with new
projects to prepare for tomorrow
morning's class
when they received a text message
although on vibrate for the school day
the phone gave a familiar muffled chime
in chris's pocket
chris used an app to bypass vibration or
silent modes if someone called multiple
times in case of emergency
however the app also allowed anyone on
an emergency contact list
to immediately ring through although the
people on the emergency contact list
infrequently contacted chris
chris always carried a phone charger
wherever they went and never let the
phone's battery fall below 50 percent
chris had an agreement with their
school's principal that if someone on
the emergency contact list
reached out to chris they would need
someone to cover their classes while
chris was on the phone call
the text was from elliott one of the
people on the app's emergency's contact
list
elliot was your average kid with good
friends a caring family
and a healthy amount of uncertainty
about future career aspirations in a
variety of fields
elliot liked playing video games until
late hours of the night
replicating the vocal qualities of their
favorite screamo bands
showing off the amount of mud caked on
their vehicle after off-roading
and prefer performing in a variety of
music ensembles
chris had worked with elliott for a
number of years in an after-school
coding club at another school
over time chris began to notice a change
in elliott
elliott's grades dropped a little over
time a result attributed to an
increase in advanced placement courses
but not so low to cause any concern
the amount of drama between elliott and
their friends fluxually
fluctuated like a roller coaster but
remained typical for the age group
despite everyone being busy throughout
the year family life remains stable and
supportive
elliot had lost weight over the years a
likely consequence from an increase in
physical activity
drugs and alcohol did not appear to be
the source of the gradual change
chris fagley remembered overhearing
parts of a story elliot told years ago
about a distant family member's
addiction to some now
forgotten substance that caused elliott
to avoid
even taking anything for a headache
elliott's inner crisis revealed itself
not as a signal for help
but rather a gradual surrender to life
itself
something about elliot's eyes gave it
away
a certain amount of light had faded away
along with it
elliot's previously unfaltering drive
for learning how to code
chris indirectly reached out to the
coding club elliot participated in by
sharing brief stories about how chris
previously suffered from depression
and how speaking with the counselor and
friends helped
these stories may have come across as
when i was your age
battle wounds but chris only told these
stories when they thought someone
could benefit from hearing them these
stories
and advice often related to computer
science for example making statements
such as
like coding a program life comes with
many bugs and challenges
but it gets better with consistent
effort and problem solving
when elliot's eyes appeared particularly
dull
chris would reach out by saying if you
ever need someone to talk to
know i'm willing to lend an ear
months before the unexpected text
message chris met with their school's
counselor to discuss subtle changes in
elliott that concern chris
chris shared experiences with depression
and suicidal thoughts from christmas
elliot's age
as well as how chris along with other
counselors helped students through their
own struggles
chris's intention was to recommend the
counselor meet with elliot to
potentially work through some feelings
elliot may be struggling with
after this meeting elliot started seeing
a counselor multiple times a week
and began taking antidepressants at the
recommendation of their psychiatrist
the pharmaceuticals acted like sandpaper
on elliot's emotions
by filing down peaks and valleys of
emotion into a stable
but numb state although not
ideal this state of mind and resulting
side effects were better than the
emotions that led to the prescription
in one of the counseling sessions the
counselor asked elliot to create a list
of people to contact if they ever had
suicidal thoughts
elliot promised to contact everyone on
the list if things got bad
chris was the first on that list
in the text message chris received
elliot indicated not achieving something
they had been working
toward for months although chris
responded with validation evaluates
feelings
elliot's reaction appeared
disproportionately large
after a few exchanges of encouragement
by chris and the hastily retorted shut
down by elliot
elliot indicated the self-described
overreaction might have resulted from
not taking medication for the past few
weeks
chris picked up the phone and called
elliott
on the other end of the line elliot was
nearly silent and short on breath
chris could hear a high amount of
anxiety and hopelessness in elliot's
voice
and gently encouraged elliot to slow
down the breathing as everything was
going to be okay in the end
elliot complied but was worried they
would do something they couldn't that
couldn't be taken back
elliott was currently standing in their
school's parking lot after
school hours relatively safe for the
time being
hoping the fear would not show in their
voice chris asked if elliot could stay
there
and wait for chris to arrive and speak
in person
elliot made a promise to not leave but
did not want to talk on the phone while
chris made the drive over
while driving chris tried to contact
others near elliott who might help
however the after school hours made it
difficult to find anyone near elliot
so along that drive chris made a phone
call to a 24-hour suicide hotline
for advice the calming voice on the
other end of the line
asked questions about the situation in
order to best understand how to help
although the conversation helped
district although the conversation
helped distract chris
from wondering if elliott would keep
their promise to stay safe
until chris's arrival the drives seemed
to stretch on longer than usual
upon arrival chris could immediately
since elliott was in an agitated state
elliot's eyes were frantically jerking
back and forth as if searching for a
lost
object responses if any were short and
firm
elliot made it clear they did not want
to speak to the other person on the
phone
however they agreed chris could act as a
messenger between both parties
the suicide hotline in elliott spoke
through chris for what seemed like
minutes
but lasted over an hour by then elliot's
pacing slowed
the anguish and their voice became equal
parts disappointment and embarrassment
elliot's discourse shifted toward
thinking about the future
and began to thank both chris and the
voice on the other phone on the other
end of the phone
a voice that elliot never heard although
all parties agreed the crisis was
averted and that regular check-ins by
elliot
and their counselor and chris would
follow until there was no more cause for
concern
this was not the first time chris worked
with healthcare professionals to help
another person in this manner
nor would it be the last
okay the next section of the paper is
risk factors and warning signs
a variety of risk factors can contribute
to depression and suicide ideation
these include mood or psychological
disorders such as depression
anxiety borderline personality disorder
anhedonia low self-esteem hopelessness
psychosis conduct disorder or
impulsivity
externalizing problems eating disorders
and other forms of self-harm
substance abuse such as alcohol and
drugs prenatal drug exposure
social pressure isolation motivation to
die or escape
socio economic difficulties due to
recessions or unemployment
sexual orientation local suicide
epidemics and amount of exposure to
suicide
physical or chronic illness loss of
relationships due to death
divorce or living apart general family
discord
poor parents child connection or low
parental supervision
intragenerational or cultural classes
clashes with parents
familial history of suicide and
psychopathology
child maltreatment associations with
deviant peer groups
ease of access to lethal methods the
number of barriers to accessing mental
health treatment
and a discomfort for support systems
of all these risk factors the greatest
risk factor for suicidality
is previous suicide attempts having any
one of these symptoms
might not indicate depression or
suicidal ideation
however the level and severity of
psychiatric disorders positively
correlates with suicidal risk
in addition a positive correlation
exists between depression and suicide
with two or more
simultaneous disorders or illnesses in
effect notice
co-morbidity
potential warning signs for depression
and suicidal ideation
may include the following changes in
behavior
an increase in impulsivity or aggression
anxiety irritability and frustration
lacking cooperation running away or
threatening to run away
withdrawing from family or friends
changes in quantity of sleep or food
consumed
lower academic achievement or scores
general loss of interest
fatigue or loss of energy diminished
ability to concentrate
neglected personal appearance or
interests
reported aches and pains talking or
writing about suicide or death
feelings of worthlessness or excessive
guilt hurting oneself
or substance abuse in my own experiences
with suicidal ideation and depression
i made efforts to hide my warning signs
from many close friends and family
members because i was afraid of what
others might think if i shared my
suicidal thoughts
in the second vignette chris was able to
identify warning signs and worked with
healthcare professionals to provide a
multitude of support for elliott
after noticing subtle changes over a
prolonged period of time
unlike most classroom teachers many
computer science educators have the
opportunity to work with a student over
many months or years
which may allow us to identify warning
signs and provide support as needed
however computer science educators may
find it difficult to identify
warning signs when working with hundreds
of students
or focusing too much on academic
learning outcomes
unfortunately in one of in one study of
high school teachers
nearly one in two teachers concerned a
student might be suicidal
reported they did nothing i'm going to
repeat that statement for emphasis
nearly one in two teachers concerned a
student
might be suicidal reported they did
nothing
chef tal at all also found suicide
intent was decla disclosed to another
person
before death with time for intervention
in nearly one in three completed
suicides
so given these stats how might educators
and communities
provide support for those displaying
warning signs for depression or suicidal
ideation
next section of the paper providing
support
children and early adolescents may not
initiate a conversation about their
internal struggles
so computer science educators can assist
by responding to potential warning signs
in particular computer science educators
can assist by recommending students
speak with the school counselor
psychologist or music therapist or as in
the case of the second vignette
recommend a healthcare professional
reach out to the student
some students may feel uncomfortable
visiting a mental health care
professional on their own
one option for addressing this concern
is asking a student if they would feel
more comfortable if a trusted adult were
also present
if knowledgeable of the local and school
reporting protocols and laws
and if computer science educators feel
comfortable doing so
we may lend a listening ear validate
their emotions
and let the person know we are there for
them otherwise immediately
connect students with healthcare
professionals
when listening to students it may be
appropriate to share personal examples
of having worked through similar
thoughts or emotions with a healthcare
professional
however take care to maintain a focus on
active listening
rather than shifting the focus to the
conversation
about your own experiences whenever a
conversation like this occurs
or there is a perceived cause for
concern we can speak with our school's
counselor
psychologist or music therapist for
further resources and advice
when a school's healthcare professional
is unavailable we can reach out to
organizations such as
the national suicide prevention lifeline
for free resources
and confidential 24 7 hotline
much like the hotline chris called for
professional advice in the second
vignette
the sooner a student in need has access
to resources and support
the better on an individual level
computer science educators
might work with counselors to identify
and avoid words that exacerbate
negative states of mind or acts of
self-harm
for example when the music educator of
the in the introductory vignette joked
about completing suicide
contemplating suicide during the
rehearsal this triggered my own thoughts
of self-harm
as another example one of the students i
previously worked with would engage in
bulimic
activities when they heard the word
perfect
avoiding this one word assisted with a
recovery process
for classes computer science educators
might work with local healthcare
professionals to develop lessons or
projects incorporating
interpersonal problem solving building
positive emotional and interpersonal
skills
fostering awareness of mental disorders
as common and treatable
and promoting the acceptability of
seeking treatment computer science
classes or programs may find ways to
incorporate these lessons or projects
within team building experiences
cs classes or programs may also assist
with developing a sense of community or
connectedness
an important proactive factor for
suicide
excuse me an important protective factor
for suicidal youth
by exploring essential questions such as
how might cs develop a sense of
community
schools interest in providing support
for teachers should move beyond raising
awareness
and following protocols but increased
general knowledge
and abilities for working with students
coping with suicide ideation and
depression
this includes program for early
adolescence during high suicide ideation
rather than only during high school
years during high mortality rate
schools might also partner with local
health care professionals to offer
community education events
or create distributable educational
resources
communities may also assist by
increasing access to or funding for
research on
healthcare treatment or by regulating
access to means such as firearms
pesticides and
or medications
although the suggestions for support may
help
there are no guarantees each method of
support will work for everyone
for instance side effects from
antidepressants can cause even worse
symptoms to arise
and some intervention programs may
increase depressive symptoms
in addition children who commit suicide
often act on impulse rather than
adolescents
who plan suicide over longer periods of
time
so warning signs might go unnoticed
the following vignette describes how
even when people work together to help
someone through a
suicidal ideation warning signs may go
unnoticed
this is vignette 3 alex and sam
sam was introducing a project to their
class
when someone caught excuse me let me
start this again
sorry this is the hardest section for me
to read
was introducing a project to their class
when something caught sam's attention
alex was sitting in the back of the room
pretending to hang a noose around their
neck
while everyone else watched the project
demonstration
although sam initially interpreted the
act as a harsh commentary on how little
alex enjoyed the project
a glimmer of sadness in alex's eyes gave
away a deeper meaning
alex was so young
sam had the class began working on the
project and then discreetly asked alex
to enter their office attached to the
computer lab alex reluctantly agreed and
appeared to assume impending scolding
sam stood in front of the office window
in order to monitor the classroom while
speaking with alex
you're not in trouble sam said i just
want to check to see if everything is
all right
alex immediately burst into tears a
relative of alex had recently passed
away
and alex felt very sad sam validated
alex's feelings
and the two of them spoke moments longer
class
was almost over sam just wanted to give
alex a hug and say everything was going
to be okay
when the classroom teacher arrived sam
spoke in private about the brief
conversation with alex
the class stood there and talked quietly
about their plans after school
seemingly unaware of the private
conversation alex's classroom
teacher apologetically indicated alex
was having a rough day
and was not surprised of the uncovered
catalyst the sudden changes in behavior
now made sense
once the class had left sam walked to
the principal's office at a moderate
pace
sam donned a goofy smile accompanied by
a wave while walking by other classes in
the hallway
causing quiet giggles and a wave from
dozens of tiny hands
when sam arrived at the principal's
office sam gave a look of concern
and requested to shut the door to speak
in private
the principal knew sam had a history of
identifying kids who needed to speak
with the school's counselor
so they attentively listened they both
agreed alex needed to speak with the
school's counselor before school let out
a deadline rapidly approaching words
cannot describe the amount of
uncertainty and fear
when concerned about a child's life
over the next few weeks sam made a point
to check in on alex
with those who knew about the
conversation they had things were
getting better
actually things were getting
significantly better
the behavior issues diminished and alex
shed no more tears
the weekly conversations with the school
counselor appeared to be helping
on one particular class sam felt that
they could see the
the light in alex's eyes again alex was
smiling and laughing with friends while
they shared their latest coding projects
with each other
and sam wanted to tell alex how well
alex was doing in class but missed the
opportunity
while talking with other kids before
they left for home sam made a mental
note to speak with alex about it before
the next class
sam arrived at school the following
morning
and noticed some teachers quietly
speaking in the corner of the
multi-purpose room
the look on their faces was a mixture of
disbelief reflection
and sadness
words cannot describe what it felt like
when sam heard the source of their
emotional conversation
alex had completed suicide
closing thoughts every student in a cs
program or community
has their own reason for participation
which may include a desire to help
excuse me
which may include a desire to obtain a
job in a cs related career
pure hedonic enjoyment through mod
practices or even a healthy escape from
a variety of struggles
this paper began with a vignette
highlighting some of my own struggles
with depression and suicidal ideation
my experiences with music began as a
curiosity
morphed into a mental escape and slowly
transitioned into a method for helping
others
through both music education and
computer science education
the other two vignettes highlight
perspectives from computer science
educators during critical moments when
working with someone suffering from
depression or suicidal ideation
however the day-to-day warning signs and
risk factors may be less recognizable
the actions taken by chris and sam
provide some examples of the ways we can
respond to potential warning signs in
order to support students who may be
experiencing depression or suicidal
thoughts
chris initially reached out to elliott
through indirect anecdotes while
addressing a small group of students in
an after-school coding club
however elliot's depression appeared to
worsen so chris worked with elliott's
counselor and elliott to provide a
support team that regularly checked in
sam on the other hand immediately sought
help with the school's principal and
counselor
because alex's warning signs indicated a
greater risk for self-harm than eliot's
depression
in my own experiences working with youth
in a variety of context
i feel it is better to offer support for
those who may not need any
than to reach out to someone who is in
need of support
at the very least reaching out on a
misidentified warning sign
may encourage future referrals of
friends in need of support
and it lets a person know that they have
an adult in their life who can validate
their feelings
and guide them to necessary support when
times are difficult
in addition when uncertain if someone is
displaying warning signs
or if someone does not feel comfortable
sharing with me i immediately contacted
my school's counselor to ask
if they can provide support
considering the aforementioned
prevalence of suicide and depression
among youth
computer science educators should extend
best efforts to help others
who might need guidance or support every
year
since starting my career in education i
have identified several people in a
variety of context
and demographics and grade levels k
through graduate
who benefited from some support for
either depression or suicidal ideation
given the statistics of both depression
and suicidality
it is likely each of us will encounter
multiple opportunities to extend a hand
for support
our profession could further assist
others by not only extending support
but by encouraging diversity in the ways
students express themselves through the
projects that create nrcs classes
these efforts may not only help others
create with
and learn computer science but may save
lives
i want to thank you very much for making
this far and for listening and for
watching
as a reminder please call the national
suicide prevention lifeline if you ever
need somebody to speak with
the number again is 1-800-273-8255
my only request for this episode is just
please consider sharing this
the stats suggest that this is something
we're all going to have to grapple with
at some point during our career
and i think this message needs to be
shared widely
so thank you for considering doing that
and i hope you
stay tuned next week for another episode
where i'll actually be
creating a super cut of various
interviews that have been done in the
past and kind of combining all the ways
that
the guests have recommended taking care
of themselves and staving off burnout
kind of piggyback onto this particular
message
so again thank you so much for listening
that was
hard for me to read i hope
you got something out of it and i
hope you're all staying safe and are
having a wonderful week