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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Parents urged to discuss 'choking game'
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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Administrators at Noble High School in North Berwick have launched an awareness campaign aimed at preventing students from choking themselves to get high. The campaign came about after a mother of a deceased student spoke about the so-called "choking game," saying it led to the death of her developmentally disabled son. Justin Allard, who was a 17-year-old senior at the school, suffocated at his home in Berwick the night of Sept. 27. Medical examiners ruled the death accidental. He was found in his bedroom with a belt fastened around his neck. The boy's mother, Cindy Allard, said she is determined to prevent similar deaths. "It's really scary to know that these kids are playing this dangerous game," she said. In a memo sent to students' homes last week, Principal Christian Elkington urged parents to talk to their children about the potential hazards of the game, which goes by a variety of names, including "flatliner" and "space monkey." Young people play the game for the rush they get from choking themselves, passing out and regaining consciousness, said Dr. Michael Baumann, a specialist in emergency medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland. "When you rob your brain of oxygen, you get a high," he said. The activity can cause brain damage, Baumann said. The game also can be deadly if the person doesn't loosen the choking instrument - sometimes a belt, tie or rope - before passing out. The New Hampshire medical examiner's office believes that's how Allard's son died. "He didn't understand the serious consequences of what he was doing," said Dr. Jennie Duval, the deputy chief medical examiner in New Hampshire who handled Justin Allard's case. Suffocation games have caused deaths across the country, and have gained national attention. The CBS talk show "Dr. Phil" aired a segment on the trend the same day Justin Allard died. Cindy Allard said her son did not see the show. Berwick police investigators have said they do not believe the boy's death was a suicide. The death has raised a number of questions. Mostly, Cindy Allard said, family members want to know how her son learned to make himself pass out. She said he didn't understand the concept of "getting high" and had a routine so structured that he would not have associated a belt with any use other than holding up his pants. "It was too technical for him," she said. The boy was in a special needs program at school, but was a skilled artist who had an affable personality and interacted with many traditional students during art and chorus classes, she said. Police questioned students at the school about Justin Allard's death but have since suspended their investigation into how the boy learned about the activity. Elkington said he hasn't been able to gauge the popularity of the game at his school because students haven't been forthcoming with police and school officials. "In my 21 years in education, and 11 as a principal, we've heard the least amount from kids on this subject than almost anything else," he said. "We've asked lots of questions." Maine had not recorded a similar death in at least eight years before the September incident, said Jim Ferland, administrator of the state's Chief Medical Examiner's Office. Justin Allard's death was handled by medical examiners in New Hampshire because the boy was taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, N.H., after he was discovered. Allard said since her son died nearly a month ago, some parents have told her they played similar games when they were children or teenagers. "I can't believe how many people said they used to do it. . . . The more people I talk to, the more nervous I get," she said. Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 324-4888 or at: eaull@pressherald.com |
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