Winsor, MA: Parents sue school over autistic son's suicide

Sept 10, 2018, North Andover (MA) Eagle-Tribune: Salem couple sues school over son's suicide http://www.eagletribune.com/news/new_hampshire/salem-couple-sues-school-over-son-s-suicide/article_6b7f5390-b460-5160-9747-80a141ac577e.html Believing their 18-year-old son's suicide could have been prevented, a Salem couple is suing staff members at the private school in Windsor where he took his life…. In the complaint, the couple said their son Tommy, who died at Wediko School in May 2017, was not properly supervised, cared for or medicated at the place known for serving middle- and high school-aged boys with significant social, emotional, behavioral and academic challenges. Tommy's routine of weekdays at Wediko and weekends in Salem ended on a Friday afternoon just before summer in 2017. He ran from one of his classes after being scolded for playing explicit music, according to the lawsuit. The Nickersons, in the complaint, say that no one followed him when he stormed off into the woods during what would be the final moments of his life. State police were called two and a half hours after Tommy was last seen, according to the lawsuit. Police found his body an hour and a half later. The Nickersons are seeking compensation for wrongful death, loss of probable life expectancy, conscious pain and suffering during the suicide, and loss of parental consortium, meaning the ongoing pain of not being able to see their son. … His medical chart included diagnoses of autism, depression, mood dysregulation disorder, attention deficit disorder and anxiety. Years of treatments ranged from individual and family psychotherapy to drugs and hospitalizations, according to court records. The last few years of Tommy's life were chronicled in the lawsuit by a handful of police calls. Tommy became destructive, started getting in fights at school and would bring the tensions home, his parents said…. "A September 30, 2016, neuropsychological evaluation recommended that Tommy receive 24-hour supervision and structure to insure that he and others are safe," the lawsuit reads….