Teenager found dead at home struggled to express his anxiety
Quote:
A 14-year-old boy found dead at his home near Garstang had been struggling with thoughts about death, an inquest heard.
Stephen Mortimer was found in the garden behind his house in Victoria Terrace, Calder Vale, by police on January 4 after being reported missing by his parents Andrew and Caroline.
A 14-year-old boy found dead at his home near Garstang had been struggling with thoughts about death, an inquest heard.
Stephen Mortimer was found in the garden behind his house in Victoria Terrace, Calder Vale, by police on January 4 after being reported missing by his parents Andrew and Caroline.
Stephen suffered from autism and had moved schools shortly before Christmas.
He had been a student at Ripley St Thomas in Lancaster between Years 7 and 9 but did not return to the school after July 2016.
During the first day of a two-day inquest, Lancaster Coroners' Court heard that Stephen was "intelligent and funny" but struggled to express his anxiety and would instead talk about guns and death.
Although he had begun life well at Ripley, during Year 9 his behaviour began to change.
Ripley principal Liz Nicholls told the inquest the school had a specific way of supporting pupils with autism, which included each one having a teaching assistant with them in the majority of lessons.
"Stephen settled in very well in Year 7 and was great to work with," Mrs Nicholls said.
This was despite "serious concerns" raised by his former primary school due to him talking about harming himself and others.
By Year 8 there were reports of Stephen becoming less enthusiastic about school, and he returned to school in Year 9 with a negative attitude.
Stephen was given extra lessons to talk about his concerns but he was reluctant to do so, Mrs Nicholls said.
He was becoming increasingly disturbed in lessons, began talking about killing other people and inappropriate files were found on his school computer history.
Mrs Nicholls told the inquest - led by coroner Richard Taylor - that in January 2016 she stated that Stephen's mental health concerns needed to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
"He said his mind was in a state of hatred which couldn't be repaired," she said.
Mrs Nicholls recommended that he was referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) by his GP.
"Stephen found it very hard to talk about his concerns," she said. "We felt we needed some expert help beyond the school."
Mrs Nicholls said Stephen increasingly talked about suicide, told staff he was going to kill them and became less co-operative and more defiant.
He became fascinated by school massacres and would write about them in his journals.
After he told teachers he would bring a gun and knife to school to kill people, it was agreed that his parents would check his bag each morning.
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“Self Acceptance is a process not a performance”
“You are autistic enough. And you always have been”
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
05 Jul 2017, 5:44 am
