This series of articles will explore the neurodivergent condition of autism from a range of different perspectives. This fifth article will explore the co-occurrence of autism and mental health conditions throughout a person's life.
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Individuals with autism and elevated traits are more likely to die by suicide than the general population. Since the barriers to gaining a diagnosis, as well as sufficient support remain, it is important to increase awareness and access to specialist mental health services (Cassidy, Goodwin, Robertson & Rodgers, 2021). Use of validated screening tools may improve the number of referrals and access to support (Cramm-Crosbie, 2019). In focusing on removing barriers to receiving treatment, individually tailored support programmes should be developed and offered to autistic individuals. Facilitating mental health support may enable autistic individuals to reach out in crisis, to reduce autistic individuals’ high risk of suicide (Cassidy et al., 2021) and prevent suicide.
The findings show an exponential increase of autism diagnosis over the past 20 years. As this was the first study to detect increasing reporting of diagnosis across developmental age bands and gender (especially among adults and females), replication of these findings is needed.
The review supports evidence that there is much potential for training parents of autistic children in order to educate and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to help support their children. A common feature in response to the training was that knowledge of what to expect and how to respond enabled them to respond with confidence, leading to less stress.