BERNARDS - The superintendent of schools has told parents that a student's death was the result of the "choking game."



In the letter sent earlier this week, Superintendent of Schools Nick Markarian wrote that "one of the tragic losses of student life we have experienced this year" was the result of the game, which is also known as "space monkey," "fainting game" and "flatliner."



In the choking game, people strangle themselves to achieve euphoria through brief hypoxia, a lack of oxygen to the brain.



The school district did not the identify the student who died because of the choking game.



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Markarian recommended in the letter that parents talk to their children about the choking game and review the search history on their media devices.



Parents have welcomed the superintendent's outreach.



"Those parents who have communicated with me about the letter have been positive," Markarian said Wednesday.



Students from ages 9 to 16 are most likely to experiment with the "risky behavior," the superintendent wrote.



"The early-adolescent brain does not process information in the same manner as an adult brain, and so children in this age group are not able to fully understand the serious consequences," Markarian added.



Among the signs that someone is experimenting with the behavior, Markarian said, are bloodshot eyes, broken blood vessels on the face or eyelids, mood swings, disorientation after being left alone, frequent and occasionally severe headaches and bruises or marks around the neck.



Parents should also look for other evidence, such as knots in neckties, belts, ropes or plastic bags left in bedrooms, he said.



George Scott, the statewide resource coordinator for the Traumatic Loss Coalition, was scheduled to speak Wednesday evening at the high school on "Recovering from Suicide and Other Sudden Losses," a presentation that the school district said was intended "to bring understanding, hope and healing to our community."



Scott previously came to the school district in March to deliver a similar presentation.



The school district has dedicated a page on its website, http://www.bernardsboe.com/students/crisis_prevention, to crisis prevention.



The current number of deaths attributable to the choking game is not known. In 2008, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the choking game was responsible for 82 deaths between 1995 and 2007.



According to Games Adolescents Shouldn’t Play, an international organization dedicated to putting an end to the choking game, the number of deaths in the United States has declined sharply in the past decade from 105 in 2006 to 4 in 2016.



In March, however, school administrators in Princeton sent a letter to parents about the practice after reports about the choking game surfaced at the middle school.



Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com