Assessing Suicide Risk in Adolescents With Developmental Delays: Development of a Screening Tool

Background:

• Currently, there is no standard method to study suicide risk in youth with developmental delays or intellectual disabilities (DD/ID). Youth with DD/ID are often excluded from studies that are used to develop these methods. As a result, most current suicide risk assessments have not been tested for use with people with DD/ID. Researchers want to develop an effective suicide risk screening tool for children and adolescents with DD/ID.

Objectives:

• To develop a suicide risk screening tool for young adults with DD/ID.

Eligibility:

• Young adults between 12 and 21 years of age who have DD/ID and are in mental health counseling.
• Participants will be in counseling at Surrey Place Centre, a community health center in Toronto, Canada.

Design:

• Participants will fill out questionnaires during a 1-hour meeting with a therapist. The questions will ask about mood and current feelings, including whether the participant has been thinking about or planning to hurt or kill him or herself now or in the past. Other questions will ask about participants' understanding of death in general.
• Parents of participants may also fill out a questionnaire. It will ask about how the participant has been feeling. It will also ask whether the parent has noticed any signs that suggest suicidal thoughts or actions, now and in the past.
• Treatment will not be provided as part of this protocol. However, participants can receive counseling through the regular Surrey Place Centre services.