By Dr. Amy Grosso
I’m not typically one to jump on every trending show, but the Netflix series Adolescence felt different. With so much buzz surrounding its portrayal of youth violence, I felt compelled to watch it, especially given my background in school safety. From the moment the first episode started, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy watch—but I also knew it would be important.
When you work in school safety, you’re constantly confronted with the harsh realities of violence and its impact on young people. It’s devastating, but it’s the backdrop of what we do every day. I spend hours reading reports about school shootings, trying to understand what went wrong and how we can create safer environments for students. With this mindset, I approached Adolescence hoping to learn more, though I wasn’t fully prepared for the ways it would hit so close to home.
Maybe it’s because the main character was a 13-year-old boy—not much older than my own son. One moment that stayed with me was in the final episode, where the father walks into his son’s bedroom and sees a stuffed animal lying on the bed. My son has one just like it, something he’s cherished since he was little. Scenes like this made the story painfully real. They brought the larger issue of violence into sharp focus by showing its deeply personal toll on children and families, making the often unimaginable realities feel heartbreakingly close.
Putting together the puzzle pieces
While the series does an excellent job of highlighting the wide-reaching effects of youth violence on communities, I think its true strength lies in its portrayal of the often-overlooked warning signs. From the very first episode, what stood out to me were the subtle clues the student exhibited over the year leading up to the tragedy—but no one noticed in time.
During the first episode, we learn a lot through the detective’s questioning. He points out that the student was once a good performer in school until the past year. Throughout other episodes, as students recall their experiences, they piece together clues about his online activity and the relentless bullying he endured for months. Then, we hear from the parents, who reflect on subtle but significant changes at home. One poignant moment is when they describe how their child had stopped engaging in hobbies, like drawing, and instead spent most of his time locked in his room on his computer. They admitted they thought he was safe simply because he was at home.
That line hit me hard. It echoed an idea from the book The Anxious Generation, which explores how, as parents worried about dangers in the “real world,” many came to view the digital world as safer by comparison. But the “real world” might not always be as dangerous as we think, while the online world has become a new minefield for today’s youth. Statistics consistently remind us of how online spaces often expose kids to relentless bullying, harmful content, and social pressures no generation before them faced.
Low level concerns and early warning signs
The takeaway from Adolescence is clear—we can no longer afford to overlook the warning signs. Whether it’s emotional withdrawal, slipping grades, or a sudden change in behavior, these subtleties matter. They aren’t always as obvious as we expect, but they’re there, and they’re worth paying attention to.
This is why I chose a career in school safety. Before this, I spent over a decade working in suicide prevention, where I learned how to spot early warning signs in those struggling with mental health challenges. It didn’t take long to realize how closely the early warning signs of a student at risk for self-harm mirror those of someone who might be on a path toward violence. At their core, the early concerns are often the same. It starts with someone noticing a change—a shift in behavior, mood, or even the way a student speaks.
From that realization, I became deeply committed to the belief that the only way to truly address the youth mental health crisis is to step in early, providing support and care before a student reaches a point of crisis. That’s why I joined Raptor. When I first learned about StudentSafe, I immediately recognized its potential to change the way we approach school safety. By leveraging the system to its full potential, it offers a proactive way to assemble the pieces of the puzzle before a crisis unfolds.
If there’s one thing my career and my role as a parent have taught me, it’s that we can make a real difference when we catch the signs early and take action right away. It’s not just about preventing a crisis; it’s about ensuring young people feel seen, valued, and supported before they start to feel lost or alone. Watching Adolescence reminded me again of how critical this work is and how much more still needs to be done to protect and care for our youth.
Dr. Amy Grosso
After completing her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Amy Grosso began her career as a mental health counselor at Wake Forest Baptist Health. After accepting her position as the Director of Behavioral Health at Round Rock ISD, Dr. Amy’s accomplishments include:
- Creating the Behavioral Health Services Department, including the hiring and oversight of a team of social workers—and the first-ever social worker dedicated to supporting staff.
- Assisting the establishment of the Round Rock ISD Police Department and specifically designing how social workers work in conjunction with police officers.
- Overseeing the implementation of threat assessment and comprehensive suicide protocols.
Dr. Amy serves on the National Chapter Leadership Council of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She co-authored the book Schoolwide Collaboration for Transformative Social Emotional Learning, August 2021. You can listen to her podcast, School Safety Today, here.
