Warning Signs of Suicide for Autistic People

In this course, Brenna Maddox, Ph.D., and Lisa Morgan, LCSW-CC, M.Ed., note that just having a diagnosis of autism is a risk factor for suicide, along with thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness. That is before the frequently co-occurring psychiatric conditions are added in as an additional risk factor. Maddox and Morgan go on to explain how frequent lack of social support and unmet social needs, masking and camouflaging, late-life diagnosis, being female, and having autistic burnout all add to the already-high risk. Warning signs of suicide for the general population do not meet the needs of autistic individuals, so they point out the warning signs that are unique as well as the aspects of autism that are frequently confused as warning signs of suicide.