BUTLER TWP — The choking game can be done by any child from any family and in any school social circle. The game, involving choking another person or one's self to achieve a high, is almost impossible to identify, sometimes even after death.

But it is a growing and dangerous trend among children ages 9 to 14 and something anyone who deals with children should watch for.

This was the message to school guidance counselors in Butler County during a county counselor's association meeting Friday at Butler County Community College.

Counselors from Slippery Rock, Mars, Freeport, Karns City, Moniteau and Butler school districts were present along with counselors and administrators from BC3, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and Center for Community Resources.

The choking game was discussed by Mark Lepore, a counselor educator from Chatham College, and his students. The students had presented information on the topic during a class project this summer, and Lepore said he was so impressed with their work, he wanted them to share it.

The counselors were curious about the topic, but none had heard about incidents of the choking game at county schools.

They had the same reaction to another presenter, Kim Andrews of the Center for Community Resources, who spoke on methamphetamines. Asked by one counselor if anyone has faced this drug problem at their school, only one counselor answered, claiming some students in the Cranberry Township area have tried them.

But the Internet provides information about both issues. Any child can learn how to produce the drug or do the choking game by finding the right web site, according to presenters.

Lisa Musgrave, a Chatham student presenter, said the concern about the choking game is parents, teachers and counselors aren't hearing much about how to deal with it. And even after someone dies, symptoms of the game aren't easy to identify.

"When kids die from this, it's ruled suicide," she said.

Some indicating evidence of this game are marks around the neck from a rope or belt or broken blood vessels in the eyes. Severe symptoms involve brain damage, coma or death.

"The challenge is to put it out there from a health standpoint," said Dana Mastropietro, a fellow student. "It's not easily identifiable, and its not kids having trouble. It's usually good kids who are curious."

Youths who do the choking game are looking for the feeling of asphyxiation, a "tingly or floaty" feeling, according to Mastropietro. As with other risky behaviors, peer pressure often encourages youths to try these experiences, he said.

About 1,800 children nationwide die from the choking game per year, though some of those cases have been ruled suicide, according to Mastropietro.

Keeping the communication lines open between parents and children is the main way to help youths avoid the choking game, according to presenters. Watching for symptoms or unusual behavior also is recommended.

The choking game may be growing as a trend lately, but it's not a new habit, according to the presenters.

Colleen Tosadori, a counselor from the Mars School District, said she remembers hearing about students doing it at her high school 13 years ago.

"And I know it was kids in the right crowd, just because they were bored," she said.

Patricia Hauman, a Karns City School District counselor, said she remembers hearing about it when she was a youth, too.

"I didn't realize the hyperventilating that they did was part of this," she said.

Shawn Kelly, a counseling intern at Karns City, said what stuck with him most about what he's learned about the choking game is that it could be anyone of any social status.

"This was good information to have," he said. "It's very necessary to have not only for the counselors but for the parents."

Some classes Kelly has taken at Slippery Rock University, where he is a student, have talked about the choking game, he said.