The Forgotten Half Million

MHAutism is a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

We want to find out more about mental health in autism because there is not a lot of information or support available for autistic adults who experience mental health problems, self-injury, or thoughts about ending their life.

Early research from our group showed that 66% of people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in adulthood said they had felt suicidal, 32% had planned or attempted to die by suicide, and 35% had depression. However, our more recent research showed that there are no tools available to effectively assess depression or suicidal thoughts and behaviours in autistic people. There is also little research into why autistic people are more likely to experience these difficulties, and what can be done to prevent this.

We are undertaking an ambitious 3-year research project, which will develop new tools to better assess depression, suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviours in autistic adults, begin to explore why autistic adults are more likely to experience these difficulties, and what can be done to prevent this.

Our research is conducted in partnership with the autism community. Our steering group of autistic adults who have experienced mental health difficulties, helped us design an online survey to understand why autistic people are more likely to experience these difficulties, and how this can be prevented. To date, we have published a number of papers from this study, including understanding unique risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults, and autistic adults experience of treatment and support for mental health difficulties.

We also developed two new tools in partnership with autistic adults, to help GPs better support autistic people experiencing mental health difficulties and thoughts of ending life; a Guide for GPs and a Safety Plan.

We are developing new tools in partnership with autistic adults, through interviews and online surveys, asking hundreds of autistic adults for their feedback on traditional tools, and our adapted tools. This will ensure that our new tools are appropriate for autistic adults.

We want to give autistic people and their families a voice in our research and improving mental health outcomes. Please contact us if you would like to find out more about becoming one of our mental health champions.

Our research is made possible by the support of a number of partners, including the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, the Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, the National Autistic Society, and Autistica. Further information about our research team and partners can be found below.