Help us prioritise suicide prevention ideas provided by autistic people

Suicide prevention is our number one priority

Too often, autistic people don’t get the support they need. This can lead to crisis, and for many, suicide becomes a real danger. Research shows that:

• 1 in 3 autistic people have considered suicide, and 1 in 4 have attempted to take their own life.
• Suicide is the top cause of death amongst autistic adults without a learning disability.
• Autistic people are up to eight times more likely to die by suicide than non-autistic people.
• Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm is the most common category of death in autistic children without a learning disability.

We believe this can – and must – change. We’re committed to understanding why the risk of suicide is higher in autistic people and what we can do to change this.

Take our survey to help us understand which ideas will make the biggest impact

Earlier this year we launched our suicide prevention campaign with a survey. An incredible 1,281 autistic people and 200 supporters took part – making it the largest ever survey into autism and suicide.

In one part of the survey, we asked participants for ideas that could help reduce the number of autistic people dying by suicide. Our research team, which includes autistic people, has analysed the information provided and identified 63 unique ideas.

The next step in our research is to prioritise these ideas. So, we have developed a follow-up survey to give autistic people and supporters the opportunity to rank the ideas, based on which they believe will have the greatest impact.

We would like as many people as possible to take the survey. You’re eligible to participate if any of the following apply to you:

• You are autistic (with or without a formal diagnosis) and aged 16 or over.
• You care, support, advocate for, or are very close to an autistic person of any age or ability and are aged 16 or over.
• You cared, supported, advocated for, or were otherwise very close to an autistic person who died by suicide and are aged 16 or over. 

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 25 minutes to complete.

What next?

The survey will remain open until 5pm on Friday 31 January 2025. Once complete, it will give us insight into what the next steps should be in our suicide prevention campaign. As we develop these, we’ll work with our Community Advisory Panel to ensure that our work reflects the experiences and needs of the autism community.

We will share the suicide prevention priorities of autistic people and their supporters publicly, so that policymakers, charities, and those who commission or deliver services can use them to make informed decisions.

Our suicide prevention project team

The study is being conducted by a project team including members of our charity, Bournemouth University, Newcastle University, University of Nottingham, and SOAS University of London, and is led by the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. The team includes both neurotypical and neurodivergent members and members with expertise through experience. We also draw on professional backgrounds in research, healthcare, and the voluntary sector.