ADULTS with Asperger syndrome – a type of autism – are nine times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than members of the general population, a study has found.
SCIENTISTS at a Cambridge clinic surveyed 374 individuals diagnosed with the developmental disorder between 2004 and 2013.
They found that two-thirds had contemplated suicide and a third had planned or attempted suicide. Suicidal thoughts and behaviour were significantly more common in those Asperger adults who had a history of depression. Lead scientist Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, from the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, said: “Adults with Asperger syndrome often suffer with secondary depression due to social isolation, loneliness, social exclusion, lack of community services, under-achievement and unemployment. “Their depression and risk of suicide are preventable with the appropriate support. “This study should be a wake-up call for the urgent need for high quality services, to prevent the tragic waste of even a single life.” Autism spectrum conditions are a group of developmental brain disorders that cause difficulties in communication and social interaction. They are often accompanied by unusually narrow interests and difficulty adapting to change. People with Asperger syndrome show key autistic symptoms but without delayed language development or intellectual disability. In the UK, about 700,000 people – about one in 100 – has an autism spectrum condition. The new findings are published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry. Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society’s Centre for Autism, said: “This important study highlights the struggles that too many people with autism, including Asperger syndrome, unnecessarily face. “The communication and interaction difficulties people on the autism spectrum experience can make them particularly vulnerable to social isolation, which in turn can lead to mental health issues and suicidal thoughts. “Two-thirds of adults with autism and Asperger syndrome in a recent NAS survey told us they have felt depressed because of loneliness. “With the right support in place, people with the condition can play an active part in their communities and have perfectly good mental health – just like anybody else. “Mental health issues should be taken seriously in people with autism and not seen as an inevitable part of the condition.”