22 Apr ‘Complex Issues’ and ‘Entire Life History’ Behind Autistic Youth, Suicide Prevalence

Corinne Purtill, a health and science reporter with the L.A. Times and fellow at the USC Center for Health Journalism, led the webinar “The Hidden Toll: Reporting on Youth Autism and Mental Health in the Misinformation Age.” (Screenshot by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over as the country’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services early last year, misinformation about autism has surged.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that “the claim ‘vaccines don’t cause autism’” is not evidence-based, and Kennedy wrongly alleged a link between Tylenol and autism on the national stage.

Some truths about autism itself — and the experiences of autistic people — are still coming to light thanks to reporting that pushes back against misinformation and simple narratives that can fuel vaccine hesitancy and cause delays in support.

The USC Center for Health Journalism hosted an April 15 webinar that brought Corinne Purtill, a health and science reporter with the Los Angeles Times and fellow for the center, in conversation about the importance of dispelling misinformation about autism and bringing the voices of autistic youth to audiences.

For one of those not-so-simple stories, she looked into the high rates of suicide in autistic youth, which are higher than those who are not autistic.

“These are complex issues; they don’t boil down to a simple, easy question. There’s a lot we don’t know,” said Purtill at the webinar.

Compared to 4.1% of non-autistic youth, 10.6% of autistic youth have attempted suicide, according to a study from 2024. And a University of Iowa study found that autistic children who had IQs of greater than 120 were almost six times more likely than other children to have suicidal thoughts.

One of those youth who died by suicide was Anthony Tricarico, a teenager whose family’s experience Purtill reported on to show the real autistic lives hurt by mental health struggles.

Putrill said that there is research and some solutions out there about the challenges that autistic youth face, but there are lags in getting them to their families and health providers.

“The slow pace we’ve seen in getting this information to the people who need it is not really that uncommon in certain areas of child health, certain issues of disability research,” said Purtill. “It’s just a matter of the people who are doing the work are busy doing the work, and the people who are caring for children are busy caring for children.”

That makes seeing mental health struggles in youth — and helping solve them — more of a challenge. Even more challenging is that autistic youth experience mental health issues differently than others, including among themselves.

“The fundamental mental health care interventions that we have, whether it’s therapy, whether it’s a group, an interview in a doctor’s office, all of these are predicated on the idea that somebody can ask you, how do you feel inside, and you can tell them,” said Purtill.

For some autistic kids, Purtill said they may be unable to express themselves in those ways. Alexithymia, which Purtill said is basically a difficulty identifying and explaining one’s emotions, is seen in around 80% of autistic people, she added.

That’s not always known by parents or therapists lacking experience with autistic youth, so certain behaviors can come across differently than what is actually meant by the autistic person.

“It comes down to these sort of fundamental mental health needs. That really is where they do need specialized care or a different pattern from the mainstream standard of care,” said Purtill.

In Tricarico’s case, his parents ensured he received support and therapies at the suggestion of experts in their son’s life. But, as Purtill reported in her story, his parents weren’t aware that the warning signs of suicide could look different in an autistic kid.

Even with warning signs, the prevalence of suicide in autistic youth and lack of understanding in some, “we don’t know why these things happen,” said Purtill.

The questions that drove Purtill’s story, however, were things that could be expanded on.

“Perhaps where journalism could be of value here is building that bridge between people who are doing the work and the people who need to hear it, because there really aren’t a lot of good answers for families who are navigating this system,” said Purtill.

Sharing the Tricarico family’s experience meant speaking with parents and documenting what they went through, but it wasn’t a substitute for Tricarico’s missing voice.

“This individual had an entire life history leading up to this. It’s not fair to craft a story about someone that makes it sound like this was in any way inevitable,” said Purtill.