Autistic people are more likely to experience suicidal crisis. 988 is changing to serve them better
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Free, largely confidential and available 24 hours a day via call, text or online chat, the 988 Lifeline — formerly the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline — is among the most accessible and effective suicide prevention tools in the U.S.People have contacted the service roughly 25 million times since July 2022, when the previous 10-digit telephone number officially converted to the shorter and more memorable 988.An overwhelming majority of system users in a study commissioned by the agency that oversees the lifeline said they found it helpful and potentially lifesaving.Yet for one particularly vulnerable population, the decision to reach out can be especially complicated.
Many autistic people require additional time to process verbal information, particularly in stressful or overwhelming situations.If a question is long or laden with metaphoric speech — “feeling blue,” “get it off your chest” — the time required only expands.
Some have reported being hung up on when a 988 counselor misinterpreted their silence to mean they’d walked away.Others have struggled to make their needs understood, or found that the encounter unfolded in a way that unintentionally caused further harm.
Science & Medicine In a room filled with pounding noises and clanging cowbells, L.A.County deputies learn that sometimes the best way to handle a crisis is to simply wait.Some years ago, before the launch of the national lifeline’s text service, Rae Waters Haight contacted a text crisis line during a challenging period.
The counselor asked a routine question to assess his safety: Was there anything in his house right now that he could use to hurt himself?Like many autistic people, Haight’s mind interprets language in its most literal sense.Mentally he scanned the rooms of his Carlsbad home, envisioning various objects and the ways they might cause harm.
He had no intention of u...