AGXStarseed
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(Not written by me)
Prefect Elspeth McKendrick, 16, killed herself after failing to come to terms with her diagnosis
Star pupil: Schoolgirl Elspeth McKendrick hung herself after being diagnosed with autism
A star pupil who scored a string of top GCSE grades hanged herself after being diagnosed with autism.
Elspeth McKendrick, 16, killed herself just weeks after she scored a string of A* grades at GCSE because she couldn't come to terms with her diagnosis, an inquest heard.
The school prefect desperately wanted to fit in at school and had built up a circle of friends – but felt alone after doctors told her she had Asperger's syndrome in 2012.
The inquest in Heywood, Greater Manchester, heard that Miss McKendrick was ''happy to be odd and eccentric" and struggled to tell people how she felt about her diagnosis.
Just a week after going on a school trip as part of the National Citizen Service, the teenager was found hanged in her bedroom after leaving a note apologising to her family and telling how she wished she could open up to friends.
'Happy to be odd': Elspeth McKendrick struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis
The Dr Who and Sherlock fan was upset at the diagnosis and felt unable to tell anyone of her feelings about it.
The inquest heard how Miss McKendrick, from Bury, had been an artistic and creative pupil at Tottington High School.
She was an avid reader who always had a novel in her school bag and had already won a place at Manchester College of Art to study A levels.
Creative: Miss McKendrick had won a place to study at an art college
But her mother Rebecca Jackson, 47, told the hearing. "She had told of problems socialising and making close friends. Although she had a lot of friends she also wanted to have a close best friend and she did not have that.
"There were behavioural issues and tantrums that were beyond my experience of normal teenage tantrums because, for Elspeth, things were black and white. Elspeth was very tech savvy and she enjoyed using the computer.
"It caused an awful lot of problems. We got woken up in the middle of the night at 2am and she was on the computer or at 4am and then was not sleeping. She was existing on four hours a night then. It was Elspeth's way or the high way."
In 2011 Miss McKendrick went to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Bury and was upset to be diagnosed with Asperger's – a mild form of autism – the following year.
Problems socialising: Miss McKendrick found it tough to talk to friends about her feelings
Mrs Jackson said: “She was very geeky and enjoyed a lot of things like Albert Einstein and she loved films and cinematography. There are a lot of film directors with Asperger’s so it doesn’t mean there is anything mentally wrong with you, just a difference in the way you think.
“I tried to present it in a positive light to her and was recommended a book about Asperger’s and teenagers and it was really positive. I bought it for Elspeth and she tore it into shreds and then was very sorry and tried to sellotape it back together. She was very much in denial.”
Miss McKendrick's father Euan, 43, told the inquest: "She was not happy about her diagnosis and she wanted to be Elspeth and felt the diagnosis was a waste of time. CAMHS she saw as toxic and not about her and more about her mother’s needs and not her needs.
"When she was good she was fantastic, when she lost it she really did. Most of it was stropping and slamming the door. There were a few bad ones that were horrific – shouting, swearing and calling names, saying the most terrible things.
Loved reading: Elspeth was a pupil at Tottington High School
“She did feel an awful lot of pressure. She felt she was being observed. I am afraid she did not like being watched or observed. Part of the CAMHS problem was that she was convinced they were taking notes about her and sharing it with her mother.
“She kept her choice of college secret. She didn’t want people to know what she was doing or where she was going. She felt she was in a fish bowl all of the time. “She did not want the diagnosis – she just wanted to be a bit odd. She was happy being odd, a bit eccentric.”
Det Insp Denise Pye of Great Manchester Police said a note had been found on top of Miss McKendrick's laptop apologising for what she had done as well as a notebook containing school work and comments about her feelings.
DI Pye said: “She felt she was alone and wanted to tell friends how she felt but felt she couldn’t do so. Some of the positive stuff seems to refer to the challenge she went on and the negative stuff was that she felt she did not have contact with people she should after the challenge because she made such good friends and felt so good about that.”
Miss McKendrick’s clinical psychologist at Bury CAMHS, Neil Wilson, told the inquest: "Elspeth was at the subtle end of the autism spectrum. Someone who might meet her for the first time would not probably regard her as having a developmental disorder but as shy and cautious."
Headmaster at Tottington High School, Paul Greenhalgh, said: "Elspeth was an A* student and had a lovely small group of friends. Elspeth was amazingly creative and artistic.
"But she struggled with the diagnosis of Asperger’s and wanted more than anything to fit in. She loved reading and always had a novel in her school bag.
"She was asked to be a prefect in year 11 and did a fine job upholding school rules and requirements. She was a talented student with a depth of intelligence and capability beyond her years."
Assistant Coroner Catherine McKenna recorded a conclusion of suicide and said: "I am conscious that Elspeth was a very private young woman and would probably not be happy that we've had this inquest. She was a bright witty talented young woman and she had much to look forward to in her life."
SOURCE: A* grade pupil hanged herself after being diagnosed with mild autism - Mirror Online
Prefect Elspeth McKendrick, 16, killed herself after failing to come to terms with her diagnosis
Star pupil: Schoolgirl Elspeth McKendrick hung herself after being diagnosed with autism
A star pupil who scored a string of top GCSE grades hanged herself after being diagnosed with autism.
Elspeth McKendrick, 16, killed herself just weeks after she scored a string of A* grades at GCSE because she couldn't come to terms with her diagnosis, an inquest heard.
The school prefect desperately wanted to fit in at school and had built up a circle of friends – but felt alone after doctors told her she had Asperger's syndrome in 2012.
The inquest in Heywood, Greater Manchester, heard that Miss McKendrick was ''happy to be odd and eccentric" and struggled to tell people how she felt about her diagnosis.
Just a week after going on a school trip as part of the National Citizen Service, the teenager was found hanged in her bedroom after leaving a note apologising to her family and telling how she wished she could open up to friends.
'Happy to be odd': Elspeth McKendrick struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis
The Dr Who and Sherlock fan was upset at the diagnosis and felt unable to tell anyone of her feelings about it.
The inquest heard how Miss McKendrick, from Bury, had been an artistic and creative pupil at Tottington High School.
She was an avid reader who always had a novel in her school bag and had already won a place at Manchester College of Art to study A levels.
Creative: Miss McKendrick had won a place to study at an art college
But her mother Rebecca Jackson, 47, told the hearing. "She had told of problems socialising and making close friends. Although she had a lot of friends she also wanted to have a close best friend and she did not have that.
"There were behavioural issues and tantrums that were beyond my experience of normal teenage tantrums because, for Elspeth, things were black and white. Elspeth was very tech savvy and she enjoyed using the computer.
"It caused an awful lot of problems. We got woken up in the middle of the night at 2am and she was on the computer or at 4am and then was not sleeping. She was existing on four hours a night then. It was Elspeth's way or the high way."
In 2011 Miss McKendrick went to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in Bury and was upset to be diagnosed with Asperger's – a mild form of autism – the following year.
Problems socialising: Miss McKendrick found it tough to talk to friends about her feelings
Mrs Jackson said: “She was very geeky and enjoyed a lot of things like Albert Einstein and she loved films and cinematography. There are a lot of film directors with Asperger’s so it doesn’t mean there is anything mentally wrong with you, just a difference in the way you think.
“I tried to present it in a positive light to her and was recommended a book about Asperger’s and teenagers and it was really positive. I bought it for Elspeth and she tore it into shreds and then was very sorry and tried to sellotape it back together. She was very much in denial.”
Miss McKendrick's father Euan, 43, told the inquest: "She was not happy about her diagnosis and she wanted to be Elspeth and felt the diagnosis was a waste of time. CAMHS she saw as toxic and not about her and more about her mother’s needs and not her needs.
"When she was good she was fantastic, when she lost it she really did. Most of it was stropping and slamming the door. There were a few bad ones that were horrific – shouting, swearing and calling names, saying the most terrible things.
Loved reading: Elspeth was a pupil at Tottington High School
“She did feel an awful lot of pressure. She felt she was being observed. I am afraid she did not like being watched or observed. Part of the CAMHS problem was that she was convinced they were taking notes about her and sharing it with her mother.
“She kept her choice of college secret. She didn’t want people to know what she was doing or where she was going. She felt she was in a fish bowl all of the time. “She did not want the diagnosis – she just wanted to be a bit odd. She was happy being odd, a bit eccentric.”
Det Insp Denise Pye of Great Manchester Police said a note had been found on top of Miss McKendrick's laptop apologising for what she had done as well as a notebook containing school work and comments about her feelings.
DI Pye said: “She felt she was alone and wanted to tell friends how she felt but felt she couldn’t do so. Some of the positive stuff seems to refer to the challenge she went on and the negative stuff was that she felt she did not have contact with people she should after the challenge because she made such good friends and felt so good about that.”
Miss McKendrick’s clinical psychologist at Bury CAMHS, Neil Wilson, told the inquest: "Elspeth was at the subtle end of the autism spectrum. Someone who might meet her for the first time would not probably regard her as having a developmental disorder but as shy and cautious."
Headmaster at Tottington High School, Paul Greenhalgh, said: "Elspeth was an A* student and had a lovely small group of friends. Elspeth was amazingly creative and artistic.
"But she struggled with the diagnosis of Asperger’s and wanted more than anything to fit in. She loved reading and always had a novel in her school bag.
"She was asked to be a prefect in year 11 and did a fine job upholding school rules and requirements. She was a talented student with a depth of intelligence and capability beyond her years."
Assistant Coroner Catherine McKenna recorded a conclusion of suicide and said: "I am conscious that Elspeth was a very private young woman and would probably not be happy that we've had this inquest. She was a bright witty talented young woman and she had much to look forward to in her life."
SOURCE: A* grade pupil hanged herself after being diagnosed with mild autism - Mirror Online
