Police warn about risky 'pass-out game'

Police warn about risky 'pass-out game'

Choking Game ~ Wake Up!

New Single Page Fact Sheet about The Choking Game

Media Literacy Video from 'Connor's Coaches'

Connor'sHEART.org shares an excellent video "Media Literacy" from their "Connors Coaches" program (college aged students mentoring Middle Schoolers). It takes into account that if they are able to interpret info from the media better they can make better life choices. Relating Connor Galloway's story, if Connor (and other victims) had the right information he could have made a better choice about playing the Choking Game and other high risk behaviors they are exposed to.

Choking Game Awareness Gear

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! 

Choking Game Awareness Gear - Order by March 1st and get a FREE Awareness Bracelet with each Tee and Hoodie 

ORDER 5 Tees and GET ONE FREE! 

~~See the Victims listed on
the back http://www.chokinggame.net/files/Finalized02222010.pdf 

~~ Info & Order HERE:
http://www.chokinggame.net/WearYourAwareness2010.html 

All proceeds are applied to promoting awareness and education. Thank you for your support!

The Choking Game and YouTube: A Dangerous Combination

The Choking Game and YouTube: A Dangerous Combination

Martha Linkletter, MD Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, marthalinkletter@yahoo.ca
Kevin Gordon, MD, MS
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Joe Dooley, MB
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Purpose: To study postings of partial asphyxiation by adolescents on YouTube and to increase awareness of this dangerous activity as well as the value of YouTube as a research tool. Methods: Videos were searched on YouTube using many terms for recreational partial asphyxiation. Data were gathered on the participants and on the occurrence of hypoxic seizure. Results: Sixty-five videos of the asphyxiation game were identified. Most (90%) participants were male. A variety of techniques were used. Hypoxic seizures were witnessed in 55% of videos, but occurred in 88% of videos that employed the "sleeper hold" technique. The videos were collectively viewed 173550 times on YouTube. Conclusions: YouTube has enabled millions of young people to watch videos of the "choking game" and other dangerous activities. Seeing videos may normalize the behavior among adolescents. Increased awareness of this activity may prevent some youths from participating and potentially harming themselves or others.

Key Words: choking game • adolescent risk-taking • hypoxic seizure • self-strangulation • partial asphyxiation

This version was published on April 1, 2010

Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 49, No. 3, 274-279 (2010)
DOI: 10.1177/0009922809339203

Choking Game Victims Speak out through their Parents!

 And here's what they had to say -

73% of fatalities occurred while there was an adult nearby.

79% are male

http://www.chokinggame.net/files/ParentsofVictimSurveyStats02.13.10.pdf

New for 2010! Choking Game Awareness Hoodies!

New Arrival By Popular Vote -
The Choking Game Awareness GRAY HOODIE!
Available in Youth and Adult sizes!  Note: The Hoodies run small.

Visit Choking Game.net for all the details and to Pre-order your Hoodie and Choking Game Awareness T shirts today! 

Reminder: Parents of Choking Game Victim please Update Your Child's Registration

We are in the process of compiling Choking Game data for YE 2009 and need all victim REGISTRATION surveys completed in order to do so. **Note: This Registration form  is new as of November 2009.   The deadline is Feb 29th. for forms to be updated, please take minute and complete yours.

For parents of victims of The Choking Game, you will need to update a registration form if:

You registered your loved one prior to **November 2009 or
If you have not completed an initial registration or
If there are any changes (i.e. Death Certificate Amendments, Friends Knowledge, etc)

Please complete your registration as soon as possible so that we can maintain
accurate and complete data. You can also add a photo and short bio by using this form.


Link to the Survey: http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=22902


Injury Victims Please Complete This Registration Survey:
http://thedbfoundation.com/Ysruvey/survey.php?s_id=5


Thank you for sharing your child, together we are making a difference and saving lives.

Warmly,
Kate Leonardi & The DB Foundation crew

The DB Foundation
"Raising awareness and education of the deadly teen Choking Game"

Choking Game Facts & Stats | Victim Database | Grief Support Forum
NEW! Quick Links to Report or Update a Choking Game Fatality or Injury

PO BOX 351787, Palm Coast, FL 32135-1787 ~ (904) 315 -2222 ~ ChokingGame.net

"Wear Your Awareness 2010" is officially underway!

"Wear Your Awareness 2010" is officially underway! 

This is our annual T-shirt awareness campaign. Get all the details to receive your Choking Game Awareness T-shirt and see the pics from last year, here: 

http://www.chokinggame.net/WearYourAwareness2010.html

We're currently taking pre-orders! Now available are White Shirts with Black lettering or White shirts with Black lettering.  

If you are on Facebook - Become our FAN and you can vote for this years new item - A Hoodie Sweatshirt or additional color Tee Shirt. 

Get your shirts early and be ready for the contests!

Victim's Parents please note: If you gave consent in 2009 for your child to be listed on the back of the shirts, they are automatically included in 2010. If your child is not listed, and you want them to be - we need your consent ASAP : please complete a Choking Game Victims Registration here: http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=22902   Thank you to each of you for sharing your loved one in promoting awareness and education of the Choking Game.

 

TODAY show covers the Mission of Education for the Choking Game

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"Good Kids Game" being addressed by Olean, NY school district

Oleans Ny - Choking Game - Cloud Nine - Pass out Game

Olean NY - The 

Choking Game is there.  Surprised? We aren't and you shouldn't be either. Thank goodness this school district is acting swiftly for education on The Choking Game. The day that this is a proactive, not reactive measure cannot come soon enough.

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/articles/2010/01/28/news/doc4b61fbaae836f618031739.txt

Olean officials: Choking no game
By Adam Vosler
Olean Times Herald

A dangerous, new trend is apparently developing in Olean schools - a choking “game” that can be deadly under some circumstances.

At Tuesday night’s Olean Common Council meeting, Mayor Linda Witte had Olean City Police Chief Terry Schnell talk to the council and the audience about what he called the “cloud nine” game, among other nicknames. He also spoke to the Times Herald on Wednesday about what some students are doing inside school walls.

“What happens is one individual will hyperventilate, and then they place themselves against the wall and another individual will choke them until they pass out,” Chief Schnell said.

The “assistant” applies force on the individual’s throat or chest to cause them to pass out. School officials say that as oxygen returns to the brain, a 5- to 10-second high is experienced; followed by a rush as pressure is removed from the body, causing dammed-up blood to surge through the carotid artery.

Gerald Trietley, principal of Olean Middle School; and Assistant Principal Larry Welty said the issue came to their attention around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, when Mr. Welty overheard a group of students talking about a “pass-out game.”

“I had a student come to me (and say) that there were students in the bathroom doing it,” Mr. Welty added.

“They admitted it to me. They didn’t realize the implications of what they were doing,” he said.

When school officials questioned them about the incident, students said someone told them how to do it last weekend at the Salamanca Ice Rink. Some children were also reportedly playing the game at the local YMCA.

“Through the investigation, we started to find out there are probably 20 students from the middle school who either witnessed it or took part in it,” Mr. Trietley said. “We then heard ... that a couple of our kids did it in the bathroom here.”

Chief Schnell had reported at that least five cases had occurred Tuesday at the middle school.

Hoping the public grasps the dangers of this activity, Chief Schnell cited a recent “60 Minutes” episode that told the story of father who found his daughter’s lifeless body in her bedroom. She had used a strap to choke herself and didn’t wake up.

Those who survive sometimes suffer convulsions or seizures, according to the police chief.

“Kids are using cell phones to (videotape) it, and it’s quite disturbing,” he said.

The practice seems to be most prevalent in middle-school-age children, Chief Schnell explained. Officials believe this may be because choking is a way to get a “high” without actually using drugs or alcohol.

“What we found out is that this has been going on for generations and generations,” Mr. Trietley said. “I think the kids feel it’s safe.”

To hear Olean officials talk, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if the “player” in this game survives, the actual asphyxiation is also dangerous because it could cause children doing it in the bathroom to lose consciousness and hit the floor or sinks.

“We want the parents and kids to know that this is not a game,” Chief Schnell said. “It can seriously go wrong and go wrong very quickly, and we don’t want to find someone that’s comatose or who has passed away.”

Any sort of tragedy involving this game could have far-reaching repercussions.

“If something were to happen to a child from another child, I think, yes, you could be facing charges,” Chief Schnell said. He would not confirm whether the offender could face charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Schools officials hope this can be avoided by letting students know that they’re watching for suspicious activity. Those who witness it are being urged to make a stand personally or tell an adult who can take action.

“We’re not looking at punishment; we’re looking at education,” said Dr. Colleen Taggerty, superintendent of Olean City School District.

Mr. Trietley added, “We spoke to every child that was involved in this or was a witness to it. We contacted their parents as well.”

Officials are looking at contacting a physician or another expert on the subject to host an assembly in the next week. Mr. Trietley has already written a letter to be sent to parents in the district, along with warning other local school districts about “cloud nining.”

In the meantime, Chief Schnell has a clear idea of what parents should to do protect their children.

“Talk to their kids,” he said. “The best thing, I feel, is information. If they have a cell phone, I would be checking their cell phone for video or pictures of it.”

Those with teenage children may also want to take note of the activity’s many nicknames on the Internet, which include choking game; pass-out game; space cowboy; good kids’ game, derived from its absence of drug or alcohol use; suffocation roulette; and many more.

“We need our children to be safe,” Dr. Taggerty said. “Parents need their children to be safe.”

REMINDER: 

We are in the process of compiling Choking Game data for YE 2009 and need all victim surveys completed in order to do so.

For parents of fatal victims of The Choking Game, you will need to update a registration form if:
You registered your loved one prior to **November 2009 or
If you have not completed an initial registra...tion or
If there are any changes (i.e. Death Certificate Amendments, Friends Knowledge, etc)

Please
complete your registration as soon as possible so that we can maintain
accurate and complete data. You can also add a photo and short bio by using this form.
**Note: This survey is new as of November 2009

Link to the Survey: http://www.emailmeform.net/fid.php?formid=22902


Injury Victims Please Complete This Registration Survey:
http://thedbfoundation.com/Ysruvey/survey.php?s_id=5

Thank you for sharing your child, together we are making a difference and saving lives.

Warmly,
Kate Leonardi & The DB Foundation crew

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds episode "Risky Business" an excellent job on relaying many facts about the Choking Game in a prime time drama.

Criminal Minds

Midland, Texas - Midland ISD invites parents to attend an informative presentation, “What Is the Choking Game?”

Midland, Texas - Midland ISD invites parents to attend an informative presentation, “What Is the Choking Game?” at 6p.m., Monday, January 25, at Rusk Elementary, 2601 Wedgewood St. Andy Sustaita, education consultant for the Region 18 Education Service Center, will present. Parents will learn what warning signs to look for, and what they need to know to prevent their children from participating in the dangerous “game.”

Criminal Minds on CBS is airing their episode titled "Risky Business" (The
Choking Game) on Jan 20th. It's trailer is chilling to watch!

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/video/?pid=1o98E_96aVGbxg16scR0OUxK9QlO6PHq&vs=Default&play=true

Choking Game Dangers

Warning Graphic Video from YouTube included in this report

Choking Game Dangers

Updating data of Choking Game Victims

We are in the process of compiling the data for YE 2009 and we need all victim surveys completed in order to do so.
This survey is new as of November 2009
Link to the Choking Game Fatality Registration form
Link to Choking Game Injury Report Form

You are probably need to update your child's registration form if:

You registered your child prior to November 2009 or
If your child is listed on the database but you have not completed the initial registration process or
If there are any changes (i.e. Death Certificate Amendments, Friends Knowledge, etc)

Not sure if yours is current or not - send us an email and we will check the records.
Please complete your registration as soon as possible so we are able to maintain accurate and complete data.