CO-CHAIRS
The Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Neurodiversity Special Interest Group was established to address the urgent need to reduce shockingly high suicide rates among people with intellectual disability, autistic people, and other forms of neurodiversity.
Objectives
Promote the visibility of people with intellectual disability, autistic people, and people with other forms of neurodiversity in suicide prevention advocacy, clinical practice, and research.
Develop an international, multi-disciplinary network of experts, practitioners, policymakers, students, and researchers to share best practices in this field.
Support the development of specialised, community-based practices in suicide prevention, intervention, treatment, support, and postvention.
2026 activities:
Quarterly meetings to discuss the development of the SIG and activities.
Hold IASP webinars introducing the SIG, its aims, and our members’ research.
Develop partnerships and extend SIG governance to include at least one co-chair from an organisation in a LMIC.
Recruit members with intellectual disability and autistic people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and behaviours, following inclusive participatory methods.
Propose workshops and symposia for the next IASP World Congress.
Produce a position paper for submission to Crisis or another suicide-related journal.
We welcome proposals from new members of activities for the SIG.
We aim to use clear terminology that reflects the established preferences of people with intellectual disability and autistic people (American Psychological Association, 2021; Kenny et al., 2016). These terms may change in line with inclusive practice and cultural preference. We recognise that language preferences vary between national contexts and may change over time.
If you would like to join this SIG, please fill in the contact form below:
