Understanding and preventing suicide in partnership with autistic people
Up to 72% of autistic people report having contemplated suicide, and up to 35% report having attempted suicide. Large scale national studies show that Autistic people with or without co-occurring intellectual disability are significantly more likely to die by suicide than the general population. However, suicide in autism is poorly understood and under-researched. This talk will cover a program of work aiming to better assess, understand and prevent suicidal thoughts and behaviours in autism, in partnership with autistic people and those who support them. First, results of a priority setting partnership facilitated by the James Lind Alliance, to identify the top 10 autism community priorities for future suicide prevention research. Second, developing a new tool to better identify suicidal thoughts and behaviours in partnership with autistic adults for use in research. Third, results from participatory research aiming to understand why autistic people are more at risk of suicide, and what kind of suicide prevention strategies might be needed for the unique needs of this group. Lastly, future research priorities will be highlighted in light of community priorities.
Date: 13 October 2020, 9:30
Venue: Via Zoom - please email Elizabeth.Thomas@psych.ox.ac.uk for link
Speaker: Dr Sarah Cassidy (University of Nottingham)
Organising department: Department of Psychiatry
Organiser: Elizabeth Thomas (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: Elizabeth.Thomas@psych.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Psychiatry Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Elizabeth Thomas