Participatory Research for Suicide Prevention in Autism

This study will pilot test a new four-part virtual educational intervention called Forming Love around Autistic People to Prevent Suicide (FLAPS). Participants will be active members of an organization (e.g., paid employee, volunteer, stakeholder) whose work impacts autistic people. They will participate in four virtual educational sessions led by trained facilitators. The educational intervention will provide current research evidence and community-informed information about suicide risk and prevention, and engage participants in active discussions to expand their knowledge and skills as well as to promote action planning to support suicide prevention for autistic people in their community. Participants will provide demographic and descriptive information and complete the Steps Toward Prevention (Autism Community Suicide Prevention) measure at three time-points (Pre-intervention, post-intervention \[approximately 2 months after baseline\], and 3-months after intervention). The Steps Toward Prevention (Autism Community Suicide Prevention) measure will assess participants' knowledge, skills, and actions to support suicide prevention for autistic people. They will also be provided an option to complete a short interview to provide feedback about the FLAPS intervention.