Behind a son's smile, a silent untreated crisis

Few screening tools to prevent suicide are tailored to meet needs of autistic youths.

- BY CORINNE PURTILL

A PAINTED rock is one of many in a memorial for Anthony Tricarico, a popular, accomplished teen.

When Anthony Tricarico was diagnosed at 7 with autism spectrum disorder, his parents, Neal and Samara, were told that he might need extra support at school, so they made sure he got it. When doctors suggested therapies for his speech and motor skills, they sought those out too.

But when their kind, popular, accomplished boy began to experience depression and suicidal ideation as a teenager, no one told them that the same thinking patterns that powered many of Anthony’s achievements might also be amplifying his most harmful thoughts, or that the effort of masking his autism could be hurting his mental health.

None of the people or organizations they contacted for help said Anthony might benefit from therapies or safety plans adapted for autistic people, or even that such things existed. They did not say that he might not show the same warning signs as a non-autistic teenager.

And only after he died from suicide in May 2024 did the San Diego County couple discover that autistic kids — particularly those like Anthony, whose disability is not immediately apparent from the outside — are more likely to think about and die from suicide, and at earlier ages, than their neurotypical peers.

“Our son has always been different. So why wouldn't how we approach suicide be different?” Neal said.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S. for kids aged 10 to 18. Prevention strategies that take neurodiversity into account could go a long way toward reducing the number of young lives lost.

Autism researchers and advocates are working to develop better screening tools and interventions based on the unique strengths and differences of an autistic brain. A crucial first step is educating the people best positioned to help kids when they're in crisis, like parents, counselors, pediatricians and social workers.