Autism and suicide
A recent study conducted on a sample population of over 6.5 million people (link to the study below) found that autistic individuals are 3x more likely to attempt, or die by suicide…
The study also found that autistic girls and women are significantly more likely to *attempt* suicide than autistic men, and the likelihood is even higher if there are other psychiatric conditions in the mix.
And in a recent meta-analysis, 20% of autistic children and teens reported suicidal ideation in the past year, and 10% reported suicide attempts... which is DOUBLE the reports for non-autistic children and teens. This is CHILDREN & TEENS.
But the comparisons for adults are even more alarming. 42% of autistic adults reported suicidal ideation, and 18% reported attempts. But nonautistic adults only reported rates of 4.8% for suicidal ideation and 0.7% for suicidal attempts.
This means that autistic adults are TWENTY FIVE TIMES more likely to make a suicide attempt than non-autistic adults.
Autism, especially undiagnosed, can be emotionally debilitating if measures aren't taken for the individual to get their needs met.
So much needs to happen for these statistics to change. But I do think that the more people understand autism, the more likely autistic individuals will be assisted in getting their needs met.
So, thank you for being here and for learning. I appreciate you.
Here is a link to the study I referenced:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774847
And here’s a link to the meta-analysis: