Youth Suicide and Self-Injury Prevention

SOS Signs of Suicide^® Middle School Program

The SOS Signs of Suicide Middle School Program educates school staff, students and their parents about depression, suicide, and the associated risks of alcohol use. The program was created to assist in prevention efforts and to address the problems of youth depression, suicide, and self-injury simultaneously and age appropriately. The program uses a universal approach to assist in identification of at-risk youth.

Research indicates that adolescents are more likely to turn to peers than adults when facing a suicidal crisis. By training students to recognize the signs of depression, self-injury, and suicidality and empowering them to intervene when confronted with a friend who is exhibiting these symptoms, SOS capitalizes on an important social/emotional aspect of this developmental period.

The goals of the program include:

• Helping students understand that depression is a treatable illness
• Teaching, through videos and discussion guides, that suicide is NOT a normal response to stress, but rather a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
• Encouraging and engaging students to discuss emotional issues with friends and parents
• Training students to utilize the peer-to-peer help-seeking model known as ACT^® (Acknowledge-Care-Tell)

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SOS Middle School Signs of Suicide Kit includes:

• Implementation Guide: Step-by-step instructions including training materials, educational resources, lesson plans, screening tool and templates (English and Spanish)
• Educational DVD and Discussion Guide:The SOS: Get into the Act! DVD teaches the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide and self-injury and how to intervene
• Parent and Student Newsletters
• Additional Resources: Wallet cards, posters, and postvention guidelines