A heartbroken mother has outlined her desperate efforts to get help for her 14-year-old son who took his own life just weeks ago.
Eaton Community College student Jye Dyer, 14, died in February, sparking an outpouring of grief in the regional community in south-west Western Australia.
The tragedy has highlighted long-held concerns about whether WA's health and education systems are able to respond adequately to young people in crisis.
'Well-loved'
Jye's mother Michelle Offer told ABC Radio Perth, her son, who had autism, was well-loved.
"He was the highlight of everybody's day," she said.
Ms Offer said Jye started to struggle with focus and behaviour at school, leading to suspensions and withdrawals.
"He was still a happy kid at home, he was still away fishing and crabbing, right up to the last couple of days," she said.
Ms Offer said she struggled to get her son an appointment with a paediatrician or a psychiatrist, after her doctor suggested he had ADHD.
A private psychiatrist was able to offer her appointment — in November 2023.
She said there was an 18-month wait to see a paediatrician.
"I've just felt like I've exhausted everything, there was nothing else I could do … I knew he was really, really battling."
Ms Offer said she felt if her son had been able to get ADHD medication, he would still be here.
"I'm sure that it would have calmed down so he could just focus and relax," she said.
Ms Offer said the waitlists for specialists were too long, in both the private and public health system.
"I honestly don't think there's anything I can do to help anybody, because we can't speed up the waitlist," she said.
Waiting lists to see a paediatrician in the public system have continued to grow longer which has blown out wait times.
Figures from the Metropolitan Child Development Service, tabled in state parliament, show there is now an 18-month wait to see a paediatrician in the public system.
They also show there are now 6,120 children on that waitlist, up from 5,944 in August last year.
Community in grief
The South West community is reeling following Jye's death.
The teenager's friends paid tribute to him, taking part in a group jump into the river from the Collie Bridge, while locals have raised more than $15,000 for funeral costs.
The Education Department director general Melesha Sands said support was being provided to students and staff.
"Any loss of a young person is a tragedy and my thoughts are with the family, friends and school community," she said.
Suicide monitoring
WA Liberal Leader and opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam wrote to WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson last week, expressing concerns about local mental health supports.
She also urged Ms Sanderson to consider the need for a WA register of suicides, or suspected suicides.
"Such a register would allow for a more timely response, and will provide for a better whole-of-community support, instead of relying on delayed or ad hoc data."
Currently it can take two years for suicides to be contained in the annual cause-of-death report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Different standards and approaches for the reporting of suicides and self-harm incidents across WA's government agencies have also been identified as key barriers to addressing crisis-level suicide rates in the state's far north.
The ABC understands the Mental Health Commission is progressing the development of a WA Suicide Monitoring System.
In a statement, WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said her thoughts were with the Dyer family.
"Any loss of a child is a tragedy and … I am advised that support is being provided to the school community," Ms Sanderson said.
"For privacy reasons, it would not be appropriate to comment on Jye's individual circumstances, however, I would urge anyone experiencing thoughts of self-harm to seek help urgently."
