A Scoping Review of Warning Signs for Suicide Among Autistic People

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Benevides, T. W., Pelton, M., Moseley, R. L., Maddox, B., Donahue, M. P., & Morgan, L. (2026). A Scoping Review of Warning Signs for Suicide Among Autistic People. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-026-00354-5

Publication date: 30 May 2026 Added to AutiHub: 23 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 6 (33.3%)
  1. Teal W. Benevides
  2. Mirabel Pelton
  3. Rachel L. Moseley *
  1. Brenna Maddox
  2. Mary P. Donahue
  3. Lisa Morgan *

Abstract

Abstract Purpose of review We asked the following research questions: (1) What evidence exists that describes specific warning signs of suicide in autistic people? and (2) What gaps exist related to research on warning signs of suicide among autistic people? Recent findings Following the six-step approach for scoping reviews, we identified 15 sources that described potential warning signs of suicide in autistic people. The majority of sources were published between 2020 and 2025, and most sources were books or book chapters. Only one source explicitly defined ‘warning signs’. Robust research on warning signs of suicide in autistic people is lacking. Summary Most evidence on warning signs of suicide in autistic people exists from first-person narratives and fictional case examples. Two important next steps to advance the science and practice of suicide prevention include adopting a clear definition of warning signs consistently used by researchers and practitioners, and systematically evaluating warning signs of suicide in autistic people.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 16:12.

Cited references
57
With a DOI
42
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
15
4 / 57 (7.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
15 / 57 (26.3%)
References with detected author names
42 / 57 (73.7%)
Without detected author names
15
Without a structured title
15
Without a stable identifier
15
References with raw author names still to review
15
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
299
From DOI or external metadata
299
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
19
75 / 299 (25.1%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 224 / 299 (74.9%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
5 / 299 (1.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 5 / 75 (6.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 5 / 265 (1.9%).
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