Skip to content

Mom blames school for son's suicide attempt

Human rights complaint filed against Surrey School District.
SSD_Pres4_Chosen

The mom of a Surrey boy suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claims the treatment of her son by school secretaries led to his suicide attempt in late 2009.

The mother, whose name cannot be published, has filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. She claims her son was eight years old when he got into an argument with his school's office staff about whether he should attend an assembly on Sept. 11, 2009. The dispute escalated and one secretary sat on the boy to restrain him while police were called.

According to the suit, the boy suffers from anxiety and depression as well as PTSD and there was a safety plan at the school which said he should not be touched or chased. The mom says her son, whose name is also banned from publication, "was not supposed to be forced" to attend large school functions.

He phoned home to tell her about the situation, but was cut off when the mother heard the boy say "back off" to one of the secretaries. The mom claims she arrived at the school and found her son curled up on the floor with police officers nearby. The secretaries said he kicked one of them in the leg and that they had to hold him back from fleeing from the office.

The mom argues the confrontation caused her son's mental health to deteriorate and he suffered secondary PTSD. Two months after the incident, she says, he tried to commit suicide.

The school district says it only had the child's safety in mind and because he had a history of running away, they wanted to protect him from harm.

The allegations have not been proven and a date has yet to be set for the hearing.

- with files from CTV