Unveiling the new CGA Forum

We are very excited to begin the year with a new improved forum.

The CGA forum (Choking Game Awareness forum) is a place where everyone can congregate and network. Grieving parents and families, speakers and presenters, along with all advocates and those interested in prevention and education of the Choking Game all have a place within the DB Foundation and of course this forum.

The CGA forum has many features and unlimited access to members for safe, secure networking with each other. Member profiles, PDF sharing, YouTube and the calendar are just a few of the highlights.

We look forward to seeing familiar faces and welcome the many new faces as well.

Here is the direct link should you need to copy and paste
http://cgadvocates.freeportal.us/board/
Be sure to bookmark or add the CGA forum to your favorites once you arrive.

Connecticut Officials Say Middle-Schoolers Played Choking Game

Monday, December 22, 2008

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NORTH HAVEN, Conn. — North Haven officials are warning parents about the dangers of what's called the "choking game" after nine middle school students admitted they tried it out in school bathrooms last week.

The game involves actual choking to produce a euphoric, dreamlike feeling that comes when blood rushes back to the brain. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the game is linked to the deaths of 82 children from 1995 through 2007.

North Haven Middle School Principal Philip Piazza says nine friends decided to try out the "choking game" after reading about it on the Internet. He says the students told him they felt woozy and were close to passing out.

No one was hurt. Piazza says the students involved face disciplinary action.

Strangulation Activity

Long has been the debate over what exactly to call this activity. The media calls it 'The Choking Game', kids call it "Pass Out" or 'Blackout' and the CDC will be calling it "strangulation activity".

After reading the article here: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/ and the following part:

Toblin says the idea for the name switch came up when she first presented data from that study to a group of physicians. One of the doctors was Katz, who suggested that a more ominous name might drive home the point that it's serious business. Katz and Toblin reason that, just as calling motor vehicle accidents "crashes" suggests that they are potentially preventable and thus allows for taking steps to prevent such events, so might calling the choking game "strangulation" allow for a different, more effective set of interventions.

It makes some sense. However, strangulation only encompasses a few methods of The Choking Game. Would the popular chest compression method be excluded from the parameters of this title?

Just our food for thought. What are you thoughts on the term "strangulation activity'?

For the blog readers, you're getting a sneak peek at the latest statistics.

It looks like we have much work ahead of us.

Many states had a 4x increase in reported Choking Game deaths since the 2006 reporting.

North Carolina is sadly at the top of the list. In 2 short years, fatalities have increased 10 times what they were in 2006. In 2006, Texas reported 4 fatal Choking Game incidences. By the end of 2008, they had reported 23.

ATTN: Parents of Choking Game Victims

As we embark on another new year The DB Foundation and ChokingGame.net are gaining great ground and opening new doors for education and raising awareness of the Dangers of The Choking Game. More and more school districts and medical professionals are becoming aware of the severity The Choking Game poses to the children they interact with, our children!

Learning why children would 'play' the Choking Game is greatly attributed to families of Choking Game victims who have been able to share their story's details with us. With this information we can compile the hundreds of individual specifics and find common ground that needs to be addresses. Every piece of information aids in the design and implementation of education and prevention.

Almost a year ago now, the US CDC released it's findings for how many children have died as a result of the Choking Game. Admittedly, their number of victims (82) was extremely low. This gross inaccuracy was partly due to the criteria to be counted in the study. For example, one criteria was: Information about the victim involved in the Choking Game must have been released in the media. Naturally, many grieving families shun the media at such a time, and that child was not among the 82 counted.

The rate of death and injury is staggering. Many have said that we are only reaching the tip of the iceberg with hundreds per year. The DB Foundation has working relationships with the CDC and other like agencies to provide the necessary information to ensure as accurate numbers as possible in the future. This, in turn, increases awareness within these agencies and will raise a red flag for needed prevention measures. If the one thing all grieving parents have in common is that they never want another parent to feel the pain the know all too well.

If you are a parent of a Choking Game victim and you have not already submitted a "Parent Survey" please do as soon as possible. The survey has a new user friendly all inclusive format combining Victim Database information, Victim Tribute requests and Incident Information all in one place for your convenience.

Thank you for your time and for being able to share details that are often difficult to think about. Please remember, this will save a family the pain of losing a child to The Choking Game.
CLICK HERE: "Parent Survey"


or copy and paste into your browser window:
http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=22902