12 year old commits suicide after being bullied for alopecia

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

23. I am enraged that the school did nothing about this.

I have two sons, now grown, with alopecia areata universalis. Universalis means they had absolutely no hair anywhere: no eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair, head hair, anywhere hair. My older son lost his hair when he was four, the younger when he was ten. I was always pro-active in dealing with their schools. My one regret is that I wasn't a lot more insistent that if either felt chilly, they could put on a hat, despite a no hat policy at their school. Which did allow head scarves for Muslim girls. And I'm sure if they'd had a student who was bald from chemotherapy that student would have been allowed a hat.

In part because I was always pro-active and willing to educate people, they seem to have had minimal teasing. I know if either had endured anything like this I'd have been breathing fire in the principal's office.

Keep in mind that alopecia areata is an auto immune disease. The thing about it is that ANY pattern of hair loss and regrowth you might imagine has occurred to people with it. Anywhere from a one time quarter sized patch of hair loss, to several patches, to lots, to total hair loss, to regrowth and then loss again. It can occur at any age, from birth until the end of life.

I am a bit annoyed that any and all hair loss is being confused with alopecia areata. Oh, and stress does NOT cause classic alopecia areata. When people try to tell me that I can get a bit enraged, as while I may not have been a perfect mother, I do not think I was so awful as to cause so much stress in my four year old that all his hair fell out. Are we clear about this? Stress may be implicated in hair loss, but it is NOT the primary cause. Oh, and if you do things with your hair, such as harsh chemicals or really tight braiding, those might well result in hair loss but if you don't do those things, the hair loss won't happen. Unlike having an auto immune disease, which is what alopecia areata is.