Warning Signs of Suicide and Crisis Supports for Autistic People

Thursday, April 28, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Zoom

Webinar Description:

Suicide is a leading cause of death in autistic people. Autistic people have significantly higher rates of suicidal thoughts, suicidal behaviors, and deaths by suicide than the general public. Warning signs of imminent suicidal behavior in the general public do not represent the unique needs of the autism community. Misunderstanding a suicide warning sign in an autistic individual can have devastating consequences. The presenters will describe warning signs of suicide for autistic people based on the latest research findings and expert consensus. They will also share information about crisis supports for this population.   

This is a webinar sponsored by AUCD's Autism Special Interest Group for Autism Acceptance Month. 

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify 2 unique presentations of an autistic person in crisis.  
  • Describe 3 ways an autistic person in crisis may communicate.    
  • Discuss 2 ways to establish communication with an autistic person in crisis.  

Presenters:

Photo of Lisa Morgan, Woman with gray long hair, wearing glasses and a purple top smiling at the cameraLisa Morgan

Lisa Morgan is the founder and co-chair of the Autism and Suicide committee of the American Association of Suicidology.  Lisa has a master’s degree in the Art of Teaching in Special Education and is a certified autism specialist. Lisa is a self-advocate, author, autism life coach, and consultant at Lisa Morgan Consulting LLC.   

 

 

Brenna MaddoxPhoto of Brenna Maddox, a white woman with dark shoulder length hair smiling at the camera

  • Brenna Maddox is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, in the Department of Psychiatry. As the implementation scientist for the TEACCH Autism Program, her work focuses on improving community services for people on the autism spectrum across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in engaging autistic individuals and other stakeholders in community-partnered research, preventing suicide and self-harm in people on the autism spectrum, and training and supporting community mental health clinicians to work with this population. Dr. Maddox is also a clinical psychologist, a deputy editor for the journal Autism in Adulthood, and a co-chair with Lisa Morgan for the American Association of Suicidology’s Autism and Suicide Committee.   

Please Note:

  • There is no cost for this webinar.
  • CEUs are not offered for this webinar.
  • This webinar will be held on the Zoom Platform. You can test your connection with Zoom before joining the meeting here.
  • CART captioning will be available for this webinar. For additional accommodations, email [email protected]. 
  • This webinar will be archived.
 
Warning Signs of Suicide and Crisis Supports for Autistic People

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Webinar Slides [download]