What was supposed to be just another fun online gaming session for a 14-year-old Canadian boy turned into something truly special after he responded to a fellow player's cry for help. The Canadian teen was unidentified in media reports about the incident, but police in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada are commending him for taking action when his online gaming partner from Texas starting talking about hurting himself.
The Texan, who was also unnamed, has autism. "He was just indicating that he was feeling pretty down on himself, feeling pretty worthless, and it was a cry for help," explained Thunder Bay Police spokesman Chris Adams in a interview. According to Adams, the Canadian gamer became alarmed after hearing the fellow player's comments and asked his parents what he should do. They called the police, and an officer arrived at their house who then spoke with the boy over Xbox LIVE.
With help from his experience with crisis negotiation, the officer was able to pinpoint the location of the troubled boy. "It took a lot of digging, asking the right questions, trying to narrow it down. More importantly, it took building a rapport," said Adams.
The officer later found out the troubled youth was in his home in Texas with his father. The officer convinced the boy to put his father on the headset, who was "shocked, but very grateful," according to Adams. "While he was aware his son had some issues involving a form of autism, he didn’t realize that his son was in a crisis," he said. In the end, the father was able to help bring the boy out of his depressed state.
Adams noted most of the relationships in online gaming are "superficial," but added, “occasionally you might come across something that’s more serious and somebody is actually crying out for help."
The Canadian and Texan boy had played together online before, but didn't know each other outside of Xbox LIVE. "It was nice to see two things: the youth up here that was involved . . . taking it seriously enough to ask about it, and then, of course, it was really great to see the officer being able to negotiate a really great ending," said Adams.
[Source: Chronicle Journal]
Mar 17 2011
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2011年3月18日星期五
Xbox LIVE gamer helps teen cope with depression (Xbox 360)
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