Teenager Cuts Self, Says He Was Stabbed
As a social worker who once worked with juvenile populations, the term “troubled teen” troubles me! Troubled seems to be such a catch-all word. Teenagers can be troubled in so many different areas, making this a blanket term, which gives no vital information into what kinds of problems a teenager may be facing.
Having said that, I feel the teen in this brief article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution really is troubled.
Henry County police said a Luella High School student who reported being stabbed this morning actually cut himself and faces possible charges.
Capt. Jason Bolton said the 16-year-old male is cooperating with detectives. Bolton said the teenager, who was not identified because of his age, could be charged with making a false report of a crime.
Police said the teenager arrived late to his first class of the day and told his teacher he’d been stabbed as he entered a portable classroom. The student was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, where doctors determined the cuts were superficial and non life-threatening, police said.
The knife believed used in the incident was found on school grounds, Bolton said, but he declined to further identify it.
A teen must really need attention badly to do something like this. Now, I am not blaming his parents. Teens are not known for always readily talking about their problems to anyone, let alone their parents! But I have to wonder if no one-parents, teachers, friends-noticed that this teen was really upset in some way. Had there been difficult changes in his life? Was he teased and made fun of in school? Was he a loner who didn’t socialize with his peers or anyone else?
At least in this case, he did not turn his feelings onto someone else and stab fellow students or teachers. But I feel a very deep sorrow for this young man, and for his parents. He needs help, and I hope this is a wake-up call for his parents, teachers, and others around him to see that he gets it. I can’t help wondering how many other teens out there are in similar situations.
teens, teenagers, parenting teens, parenting teenagers, troubled teens, troubled teenagers, school violence
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
man poor kid to go that far…
September 20th, 2007 at 2:32 am
To rescue troubled teens.. i think treatment ceters and boot camps are better options. To get information on various programs for struggling teen search online help for parents
February 12th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
As a mother of a 13-year-old girl who cuts, I can certainly identify with the pain and sorrow and exasperation. My daughter was hospitalized in the middle of January because she could not contract for safety and eventually was diagnosed as Bipolar II. Yes, there were difficult changes in her life, to which I contributed. Yes, she was teased and made fun of in school, even after I wrote letters and climbed the administrative ladder to no avail. Yes, due to all of that, she was a loner and does very little socializing with her peers. She is now in a partial hospitalization program and is attending an online community school at home.
Despite taking all these measures, she cut herself again last Saturday. And it hurts me to see those cuts. If it were someone else who cut my child, I could seek legal recourse against that person. However, I cannot press charges against my daughter for inflicting self-harm.
Thanks for posting the article, and for reading my comment. These “troubled teens” need help. I just wish there was someone out there who could fix my kid, and all the kids who hurt so deeply that they feel the need to inflict physical wounds to express that pain.