Supporting autistic youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis

Autistic youth are at an increased risk of presenting with one or more co-occurring psychiatric disorders. In addition to this, autistic youth are at a greater risk of experiencing a mental health crisis. Emergency department utilization is four times greater for this population than neurotypical youth, and autistic youth are psychiatrically hospitalized to inpatient units at significantly higher rates (McGuire & Siegel, 2018). Despite this, emergency departments and standard psychiatric units are often not equipped with the environmental supports, staff training, and resources to effectively support autistic youth. This literature review has found that environmental adaptations and the implementation of autism specific assessment tools increase treatment outcomes of autistic youth on standard psychiatric units. Access to autism specialized psychiatric units has shown even greater patient outcomes (McGuire et al., 2015); however, a limited number of these units exist. Further research and implementation of ASD specific adaptations are warranted to address gaps that currently exist in meeting the needs of autistic youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis.