נייר מדיניות: מניעת אובדנות בקרב אוטיסטים צעירים בישראל – נקודת מבט רב מערכתית

This policy paper addresses suicide prevention among autistic youth in Israel, a critically significant topic given the elevated suicide risk in this population. The paper presents a broad, multi-system perspective that integrates insights from professionals, experts, autistic individuals, and their families. Its goal is to outline the challenges in preventing suicide among autistic youth and to propose consensus-based recommendations for optimal policy and practice. The paper focuses on three core areas: (1) Addressing suicide risk among autistic youth, prevention, referral, assessment, and treatment, (2) Ensuring continuity in educational and therapeutic frameworks, and (3) Promoting research in the field of suicide prevention among autistic individuals. This policy paper synthesizes stakeholder input through preliminary discussions with autistic adults active in the autistic community, and a conference that included round table discussions with a diverse range of stakeholders. The paper highlights challenges such as the lack of knowledge and awareness,absence of dedicated policies and budgets, and a shortage of tailored tools for prevention, identification, referral, assessment, and treatment. The policy recommendations include integrating this issue into a national program, fostering inter-ministerial collaborations, establishing professional training frameworks, adopting adapted risk assessment tools, developing tools, and advancing research and data collection. The policy paper emphasizes the need for comprehensive policy making and multi-system collaboration, with significant involvement of the autistic community. The importance of tailoring a national program to the autistic population stems from the high prevalence of suicidal thoughts within this group and the unique challenges in identifying and preventing suicide among autistic individuals. This policy paper serves as a call to action for all relevant stakeholders, with the aim to develop a comprehensive program tailored to the needs of the autistic population in the realm of suicide prevention.