I love research. I love to read it, and I love to conduct it. I use research to guide my work as a clinician and educator. And sometimes, research just breaks my heart.
Over the last five years or so, I've been watching study after study documenting the prevalence of suicidality in autistic adults. Each study demonstrates, again and again, the higher prevalence rate of death by suicide and suicide attempts for autistic adults.
Death by suicide among autistic people is four times higher when compared to the general population (Kolves et al., 2021), and suicide attempts are seven times more common for autistic adults (Hirovoski et al., 2020). Add in the intersection of being a woman on the spectrum and we find that for autistic women, there is an even more heightened risk of suicide and suicide attempts (Kirby et al., 2019).
Each of these studies reports the problem. Everyone wants a solution.
One of the first things the general public thinks about to address suicide is the national hotline: 988 Lifeline. The primary goal of the 988 Lifeline is to provide support for people in suicidal crisis or mental health-related distress in the moments they need it most and in a manner that is person-centered.
Throughout 2023, I participated as a member of the........