Play Recording (1 hour 6 minutes)
Handouts: Suicide Prevention 101-The Perception of Happiness Suicide PowerPoint *
This a pre-recorded webinar and the inbox is not active. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis and/or suicidal ideation and needs support and help immediately please call 911 or the suicide prevention life-line at 1-800-273-8255. If this is a life-threatening emergency dial 911.
Description: Suicide Prevention 101: The Perception of Happiness Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth worldwide. Some of the most common risk factors for suicide are previous attempt, mental illness, interpersonal discord and poor physical health. Suicide death has increased 100% for youth overall in the last 10 years. Many studies on suicide do not address youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and yet, suicidal thoughts, attempts, and death exist within this population even if we do not see it or hear about it. The reality of this is that it is hard to screen for suicide for individual with IDD and thus, their struggles go undetected. In this webinar you will learn how to talk about suicide, and you will learn about the myths and facts about suicide. We will learn what to look for in assessing your Project SEARCH students (and others) for suicide risk. We will walk you through what to do when a student (or anyone) displays concerning behaviors and how to help them find resources and access those resources. We will learn how to have the confidence to speak up, how to ask and what to do if you do ask about someone’s thoughts of suicide and they tell you they are thinking of suicide. We must act, and, in this course, you will have the support, education and materials you need to go back to your homes confident that you can save a life.
Presenter: Stephanie Crookston, Program Manager, Project SEARCH, UC Health, Aurora, CO Stephanie Crookston is a Program Manager with Project SEARCH at UCHealth in Aurora Colorado. Stephanie has a masters in Psychology and 7 years of experience in Mental Health and Supported Employment. Stephanie experienced a significant personal suicide loss in her life and as a direct result became dedicated to learn more about suicide prevention and help learn the signs of suicide and how to help someone who is struggling. Stephanie has presented on numerous platforms regarding ADA and accommodations, leadership seminars on working alongside employees with different abilities, suicide prevention, and mental health first aid at multiple professional conferences across the United States.