3.55 Assessment of Suicide Risk in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department

Abstract

Recent research indicates that those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at an elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Given the challenges of identifying suicidality in youth with ASD and the high rates of emergency department (ED) visits in this population, developing methods to assess suicidal ideation in patients with ASD in ED settings is essential to determine the patient’s safest disposition plan. This study compared the efficacy of eliciting the presenting chief concern upon presenting to the ED versus the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ), which was administered at triage, in detecting suicidality in children and adolescents with ASD in the ED setting. Additionally, characteristics of children and adolescents with ASD who reported suicidal ideation in the ED were examined.