Crisis counselors will be on hand Thursday morning at Acushnet schools after after nine-year-old Collin Lopes, a student at Acushnet Elementary School, and his father, 41-year-old Joseph Lopes, were found dead in their Buttonwood Ln. home Wednesday morning.

Acushnet School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Donovan told WBSM News that the school department has protocols and procedure in place to deal with tragedies such as this.

"Part of those protocols is to obtain additional crisis counselors, so they're available to assist students and staff coping with this loss," said Donovan.

When it comes to how to best provide help to a students who are coping with such a loss Dr. Donovan says there are many factors which need to be considered such as the student's age and their relationship to the victim.

However, Donovan says the most important thing for parents to do is to monitor their child's behavior and make sure they seek help for them if it is needed.

"If there are any changes in a child's behavior, if a parent sees that, which seems extreme, or doesn't seem to go away, obviously we'd like to have them bring that to the attention of our school counselors or to someone in the community of their choosing who can assist their child," said Donovan.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is believed to be the cause of death, though the state medical examiner's office will make the official declaration once autopsies are complete.

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