Suicidality Among Children and Youth With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Existing Risk Assessment Tools.
No autism-specific suicide screen exists, but three recent studies hand you the risk factors to watch today.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors hunted for any suicide-risk screeners made for autistic youth. They read every paper they could find. No age, IQ, or setting limits were set.
What they found
Zero tools exist for autistic kids. Only five screens are used in typical kids. None have autism norms or wording tweaks.
How this fits with other research
Payne et al. (2020) counted more self-harm in autistic youth than in typical peers. Their numbers show why a screener is urgent.
Arwert et al. (2020) gave us the raw material. They tracked 481 autistic kids and found different red flags for suicide talk versus self-harm. A future tool can lift those items straight in.
Flowers et al. (2020) added three quick items: older age, irritability, and low adaptive skills. These could sit on a single page checklist.
Why it matters
You already ask about mood and behavior. Until a validated tool arrives, combine the flags above: watch irritability, adaptive scores, and any suicide talk. Document them the same way each intake so you have data when a crisis hits.
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Add three quick probes to your intake: age, irritability level, and adaptive composite; flag any teen high on all three for closer safety planning.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with autism are at heightened risk for experiencing suicidality compared to those without autism. Despite this, it is unknown what tools are used to assess suicide risk in research and clinical practice among children and youth with autism. This systematic review examined tools commonly used to measure suicidality in children and youth with and without autism spectrum disorder. Four databases were searched. We identified five tools (C-SSRS, PSS, SITBI, SIQ-JR, BSS) commonly used with youth in the general population; however, we did not identify any tools that were commonly used autistic children and youth. Results highlight the lack of available tools utilized to measure suicidality in autistic children and youth. We propose a framework to facilitate research to fill this gap.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04394-7