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Chazz Petrella: The Boy Who Should Have Lived

Having grown up in Cobourg, Ontario, with a loving family which included four older siblings, Chazz Petrella seemed to have an idyllic childhood. He was big into skateboarding and sports in general, like any other child his age he could often be found attempting various daredevil stunts with his best friend, he was full of joy and energy. However once he started school Chazz’s teachers started reporting attention and aggression problems.

At the age of 10 Chazz was diagnosed with ADHD and he would often break out into rages which became so intense his family found them hard to handle. In an effort to improve the situation Chazz’s parents switched his school and put him on medication but neither of these two choices made much difference.

His parents began seeking professional help and Chazz ended up on the files of nine agencies and services – including residential placements. Despite the best efforts of his parents Chazz would eventually go on to take his own life at the shockingly young age of 12. His parents are now calling for an inquest into his death. And they’re not alone.

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  1. As a kid who is the same age as he was when he took his life…. It just hurts so much knowing that he had to suffer at such a young age… I remember being in a state of shock and crying so much when I first saw this documentary… Maybe it was because he was the same age as me or maybe its because I just sort of connected with him. I don’t know but this really hit home for me and I jst feel a huge hole whenever I see him.. I don’t know why I am so affected by this.. But anyway I hope his family is doing alright and I hope he is in a better place…

  2. My heart hurts deeply for this family. No one knows what they’ve been theough unless they too have been through the same. They are devastated & forever changed by the loss of their son. Death by suicide is a grief like no other. I assure you this! Those of you commenting wanting to place blame, have no idea what you’re talking about. I hope to God one of your children never have to suffer like this, nor anyone experience a loss of this magnitude. As parents they desperately did everything they could. No one knows what would’ve happened before the end of summer with money for school. Just STOP blaming these poor parents have been through enough. My nephew who had just turned 13 hung himself in his favorite spot to get away too. It was just 19 days after his 13 birthday & was only one month & a couple of days ago. He had outbursts like this & would beat himself in self injury, he’d bang his head on walls or anywhere he could & he started doing that as a young baby (around 2yrs old). When he had these episodes it only took a slight of a pillow or bump of his foot to trigger him & he’d lose it. Sometimes nothing at all would trigger him. If you ask most people that know him including his mom, they’d say he was fine & get over being mad, as long as you left him alone. He too was diagnosed with ADHD & couldn’t keep still. He was very methodical in things he did including having to have everything lined up or arranged on his wall just so. He would grab hold of his hair & head & scream “make them stop”. He told me he heard voices. I asked him what they say & he said… They tell me to say & do bad things. These children that suffer such extreme way episodes cannot control themselves or what happens. They often suffer from Schitzophrenia & major mood disorders as well as suicidal ideologies. NOT for attention but because they truly cannot take the torment they live in on a daily basis. I know my nephew was a sweet loving amazing little boy just like Chaz & he too was tormented & never able to sleep until he’d stay awake all night or days. We are broken forever & wish to God we would’ve known just how tormented he was. Prayers to this family. Thank you so much for sharing your story, your pain, your son & your loss.

  3. I can honestly say this is the horrably & terrorfying child documentry i have ever watch.
    Chazz was a nice, sweet, and handsome boy. He lost in the mid of agancies whom had no sense of humble, caring.
    I really loved chazz by watching his documentry. I put one of his pics on my wallpaper.
    R.I.P Chazz

  4. I mean no disrespect to parents, but how can you not find $2000 for further testing ? And how come you don’t find the $21000 to fund his school if that was the only place he seemed to do better ? I would have sold my house and move into a smaller house or rental, I would have take another job….there are ways if you really want something…seems to me the parents are blaming everyone else but themselves…they want the government to cover all the costs? really ? it’s beyond me why someone will have such expectations… Poor child seemed to me that he was just looking for attention and love…for sure there must have been an chemical imbalance or some sort of medical condition…but with love and patience he could have been better. I watched the documentary and could not help to remark that the parents seemed emotionally cold and detached…you have a child with anxiety and he sleeps in his room by himself ? instead of cuddling with him and reassuring everything will be ok ? why did he have so much time in his hands, instead of being in sports to burn his energy and keep him mentally busy? at one moment, dad says: when Chazz came from a hospital overnight visit, he told him: go to your room and catch some sleep. My question is, why the dad wasn’t at the hospital with him if Chazz was going through a crisis ? he sends him to his room, instead of showing love and compassion and helping him to relax or calm down… It’s kind of obvious, the poor child didn’t received the love and attention HE wanted….the youngest of five, all the family members were busy with their livescareers and no one had the time to show him guidance or acceptance…

    • Monamic. Did someone dare you to put that horrific comment of yours on? At the start of it I was going to say you sound like somebody who has taken their first 10 minute lesson in counselling, but you got worse as you went along and it was obvious you have never touched the subject – your comment is absolute insipid and you are so disgusting, you obviously didn’t watch it properly or take notice because if you did you’d know that the parents stayed with Chazz until he left the hospital but he wanted to walk home himself, and taking the fact that he got home around 5 o’clock in the morning and should have been in bed hours ago, its why his Dad suggested sleep, as for them not having any feeling on camera, the dad was crying, what exactly do you expect?? There was nothing cold about them at all, and if you’re that incapable of recognising proper emotion or not, you’re seriously verging on narcissism yourself.

      As for your wacko BS about NOBODY giving him guidance and acceptance (?!) and nobody was not ‘accepting’ him, he didn’t need acceptance in the first place (And you actually questioning that only spells out to me that you have a problem “accepting” people, as you class it) and he had guidance from his parents, his sister in the video, far more likely the rest of his brothers in sisters ( just because they’re not in the video does not mean to say they did not help in his life, the video was no more than an hour, too short to get every specific detailing, that’s a very low age mentality to not be able to work that out) members of staff in schools, many different people and in many different places.
      As for Chazz’s mental state, you could not be further away from understanding him, you obviously know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about AND psychological disorders, you only just about have a clue when somebody has dropped and broken something they own and are slightly upset about it, that’s all you can deal with.

      You need to take this in and stop commenting about things you know absolutely nothing about!!

    • I think Chazz didnt came from Hospital at that point He was disappearing for awhile. Thats when he came to dad’s Room. If i am not wrong

  5. feeling “Hungry” obviously this unaware little boy is addicted to cigarettes and probably weed (debate you can’t be addicted to marijuana all you want but at least 10% of people undeniably can be) He;s no doubt also craving all of these different sleep medications and mood stabilizers they;ve perscribed to him (I have first hand experience with problems quitting prozac and that is considered one of the least addicting mood stabilizing drugs). To me it seems obvious this boy had quite a few external factors contriibuiting to the severity of his anxiety (Drug withdrawl accelerating anxiety and furthering sleep deprevation which is a self reinforcing cycle) and all of that anxiety no doubt made a cold detached version of “Chad” come to light, in other words those things direclty fed his depression… If anyone who knew Chad ever reads this I am deeply sorry for your loss and situations like these must be unimaginably hard to understand… so many different factors coming into play.

    The reason I can say a lot of this with confidence is that my childhood was freakishly similar (Outbursts, mood swings, good family but unstable, medication, addiction, legal and non-legal drug use, violence… even a social aptitude and cheery outlook on life, that unbeknown to most also involves a deep festering shameful depression) Maybe I’m projecting my own experience onto this film but objectively there are too many similarities in my mind not to post this.

  6. I would suggest to someone in this situation to sell your farm to pay for the help your child needs. Move into a smaller home and let your child sleep in your room if he/she has anxiety. For goodness sake, do not force an anxious child to go to school if he/she can’t. If you have the money, like this family does, then make the huge sacrifices and find an alternative school or homeschool. Take your child running for an hour or two every morning if he/she can’t sleep. Sign them up for the swim team. Mental illness in children is rising because of overindulgence, lack of rigid structure in day to day life, lack of a sugar free diet, lack of daily rigorous exercise, and lack of physical and emotional closeness practiced multiple times a day. Parents don’t not provide this on purpose. They just don’t know.

  7. I have a son who as OCD he as been followed since is tender age and he’s still living with me at 23 years old I’m in the process of placing him in a group home for his sake and mine….I’m sixty years old and I’m the one doing all the leg work, I’m Diabetic I have a heart condition and I am overwhelmed, his mother takes him about once a month that is the extent of her help…
    I am so worried for his future what will happen to him when I kick the bucket.
    My son signed a procuration giving me the right to his medical file, would you believe that I had to fight with his psychiatrist to get it more than that he never signed the paper’s that the archives would send him so they could release the file to me, it’s the head of that department who took the decision to release it to me, this psychiatrist is a complete moron my family Doctor wrote him a letter that he never read and it’s not in my son file neither is the procuration.
    WTF is going on in this Country when the people we should trust don’t help.
    I really feel for this Family and for there terrible lost.
    But God as my witness if something happens to my son, revenge wont be served cold if it’s the last thing I do !

  8. these are the things no one talks about, the truth being our greatest strength, but we live with a bunch of people who only want to get rich and have more. love is like a song or a musical instrument and a song can play, but much work and effort has to be put into the song, the words matter so much. no great song comes quickly. we must put down our fun and work on what is right and good. there are many who work hard against us in the unseen world. the many are called demons and they are strong, ruling over the flesh at will it seems. a child does not kill himself without something telling him to, those voices are loud and they don’t stop after the lights go out.
    we have many more good and stronger angels willing to help and their voices can be heard if you call out to them, help me! they will bring the armies of good and tear down the evil empire that surrounds us. the war that rages is going to be seen by the entire world very soon as CERN TURNS THE KEY TO THE PIT. what isn’t real will come and kill, rob, and rape the unwilling. the HOLY SPIRIT being our only defense. if he is not inside you, call on him today, the hour is late and the days are getting shorter even as i speak. the hour has come, the end is here. life does not stop once the heart no longer beats, it has just begun, but the decision to where you will live is already made once your life leaves you. forever is a long time, want more than just things, want love and happiness and the things will find you. love the strongest arm ever made, use it with your words and actions. demons fear JESUS, call his name and he will come…

    • I would have to agree with the fact RELIGION has nothing to do with the boys condition, or his “cure”, or his survival, just irresponsible to suggest such bullshit

    • Get a Fucking life rerligion as nothing to do with mental illness *&(%$$?)ÙMMMarghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

      • well then what is the problem? get the meds and stop worrying about what i say. i say your wrong and i have proof. how people can live with things they can’t fix is insane if you ask me. i wanted to know the answers and they were shown to me, but you wanted nothing and nothing was given to you. you going to get even with who? someone just like you, who nothing means nothing. your life was the biggest waste of time. it was all laid out in front of you and you seen nothing, it was hiding in plain site…

        • all I can say is “YAWN” guy, yawn, if it works for you live it, breath it, eat it etc……..just stupidity to suggest it in this case, not to mention irresponsible. No need to try and push your convictions out there, right or wrong. Fade away guy, fade away happy

        • Hey cheap Griffin !
          Tell you what find yourself a not so fresh roadkill and suck on it’s ass for a while it just might give you the grey matter that you obviously need

        • and it is called truth, not rerligion, but don’t worry about that either, it wont matter where your headed. and you taught your children what you know, which is nothing. is it becoming any clearer for you…