That's what the SOS program, which Satcher will praise today, aims to do. The program, now in more than 200 high schools across the country, screens teen-agers for depression and also teaches them to respond as instinctively to a friend who shows signs of suicide as they would to a friend who is choking. Acknowledge the signs, tell the friend they Care, then Tell an adult. Brinkman, who plans to expand Maury's program next year, only had one complaint from a parent who didn't think the school should be talking about suicide. In fact, he and counselors at the school set up a table at parent-teacher conferences for parents to be out surveys, the school referred two to counseling.
Adults tend to be contemplative about their options.
Teen-agers who are depressed tend to act more impulsively, making it critical to reach them as soon as possible, Brinkman said. Maggie knows that's the truth. But, no more.