Not strictly forensic psychology-related but still a glimpse into psychological research, especially clinical psychology.
For those on the spectrum, life can be incredibly frustrating. It can also present a number of other challenges including social isolation and stigmatisation.
Sometimes those with autism feel as suicide is their only answer.
A review and meta-analysis(Halloran, Coey, Wilson 2022) demonstrated this troubling relationship.
Some of the highlights from that review include the following:
1. "One in four autistic youth experience suicidal ideation and almost one in ten attempt suicide."
2. Adverse childhood experiences (bullying and gender-identity-related stigma) are risk factors, resilience is protective.
Rather troubling, teacher-related bullying led to 6 times the suicidality of those on the spectrum.
By reading reviews such as the one whose link is at the bottom of the post, can help us better understand the risk factors and hopefully prevent these tragedies from happening.
L. O'Halloran, P. Coey, C. Wilson,
Suicidality in autistic youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Clinical Psychology Review,
Volume 93, 2022,
102144, ISSN 0272-7358,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.10214