Keeping it Together: A shocking suicide and the parents sounding an alarm

Neal and Samara Tricarico first noticed their son Anthony was different when he was about 3.

The Southern California couple discovered that Anthony, then a toddler, had pulled a chunk of his own hair out while they were away. Alarmed, they sought help from professionals. Anthony was diagnosed with anxiety at 4. At 7, he was diagnosed with "high-functioning autism spectrum disorder," his dad says.

These diagnoses brought relief. And for a while, Anthony seemed to thrive.

He became a stellar student, earning a 4.6 GPA, and often set the curve in his advanced placement classes. Mental health professionals warned he might have problems socializing, but, luckily, that didn't seem to be the case. At 16, Anthony had plenty of friends and enjoyed hosting parties and poker nights. He threw himself into health and fitness, participating in Spartan Races and marathons.

However, Anthony's mental health took a nosedive during the pandemic. One night, Anthony said he was going for a walk. Shortly after, his parents heard the sirens.

I'm Charlie, a wellness reporter here at Paste BN, and this week I looked into the staggering rate of suicide for autistic children. Youth suicide has been on the rise in recent years, and, for kids with autism, it's even more common. According to a 2023 study from the University of Pittsburgh, autistic children and teens have about a 5% higher rate of suicidal ideation and are twice as likely to attempt suicide than their non-autistic peers. For kids who are autistic and highly intelligent − a group called "twice exceptional" − the risk in even higher. A 2023 study from the University of Iowa found kids with autism and high IQs were nearly six times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-autistic kids.

Despite this, experts say barely any research is being done on this overlap. What's worse, they add, is hardly anyone outside the autistic community even seems to be talking about it.

The result has left kids like Anthony to suffer in silence, with their parents, teachers and, in some cases, even their therapists unequipped to help them.

“This has been completely missed,” says Dr. Mayank Gupta, a psychiatrist in Pittsburgh who has been sounding the alarm on this issue. “I think a lot of folks have been misdiagnosed. There's a whole, huge burden of people who are actually undiagnosed, or suffering in silence.”

You can read more from this story here and find other reads from our team this week below.