♾️ Community of Practice
Kent and Medway Learning Disability and Autism
Cross-Services | Cross-Sector | Led by Lived Experts
Session 4
Reducing Autistic Suicidality:
How Do Our Systems and Services Need to Work Together?
📅 Wednesday 2nd September 2026
🕐 12:00pm to 2:00pm (2 hours)
💻 Online, on Microsoft Teams – join from anywhere
👥 Open to everyone. You do not need to have attended before.
If you are not already part of the Kent and Medway Learning Disability and Autism
Cross-Services Community of Practice please sign up:
⚠️ Content note
This session will discuss suicide and suicidality. We are discussing this because understanding these experiences is essential to improving services. Nobody will be asked to share personal experiences. Content notes will be circulated with the agenda.
❓ What is this session about?
This topic was chosen by the Autistic lived experts in our leadership group, based on their own experiences of trying to access mental health support.
They told us:
❌ There is no clear pathway for an Autistic person in mental health crisis. Mainstream services say they do not deal with autism. Autism services are not set up for crisis.
❌ Crisis teams turn people away for not being severe enough – punishing people for coping.
❌ Autistic people are being misdiagnosed with personality disorders because their distress does not look like typical depression.
❌ Services described as “adapted for autism” often cannot explain what that actually means in practice.
University research by one of our members (76 Autistic participants) found that Autistic suicidality is often driven by information deprivation and system failure, not a primary mental illness. But the system treats it as mental illness, and the interventions can make things worse.
After this session, these findings will be presented to the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board. What we discuss on 2nd of September will directly inform what system leaders hear on 22nd of September.
🗒️ What will happen at the session?
Setting the scene
A short presentation on what we know about Autistic suicidality, drawing on research and lived experience.
Lived experience voices
Time for people to share what happened when they or someone they support tried to access help. Led by lived experts. Nobody will be asked to speak – listening is contributing.
What needs to change?
A practical discussion: what pathway should exist? How should services work together? What does “adapted for autism” actually need to look like?
What we will do with this
We will capture the key themes and feed them into the Safeguarding Adults Board presentation and the KMMH LD&A programme plan.
👥 Who is this for?
Everyone is welcome. This session is for:
✅ Autistic people and people with a learning disability with lived experience of mental health services
✅ Family carers and parent carers
✅ Clinicians and practitioners from any service across Kent and Medway
✅ Managers and commissioners who want to understand what needs to change
✅ Anyone who works with or supports Autistic people or people with a learning disability
You do not need to have attended previous sessions. You are welcome whether you work in the NHS, social care, education, housing, the voluntary sector, or are here because of your own experience.
♾️ About the Community of Practice
The Kent and Medway LD&A Community of Practice brings together people from across services and sectors to learn from each other, share good practice, and solve problems together. It is cross-services, cross-sector, and led by lived experts, currently with support from the KMMH LD&A programme.
Previous sessions have covered: what matters most to our community (values clarification), sharing good practice and barriers across services, how we build a community that works at lived expert pace, the importance of language used for and about Autistic people and people with a learning disability.
Briefings from previous sessions are available on the CoP page:
aucademy.co.uk/kent-medway-learning-disability-autism-community-of-practice
🗒️ Practical information
| Cameras: We encourage cameras on so people can see who’s speaking. If having yours off is your preferred way of joining, that’s fine too. Support: Signposting and support resources will be shared during and after the session. Also found below as a Word document. Before the session: A short pre-session email with any pre-reading will follow by Friday 28 August. Know someone who’d want to join? Please share this with them – already signed up? No need to do anything else. |
🤝 Can you help us?
The Community of Practice is largely planned and led by lived experts. We are looking for KMMH colleagues and system partners who can support the running of the CoP going forward.
This could include:
🔧 Helping with logistics and administration (invites, technology)
🗣️ Co-facilitating sessions alongside lived expert chairs
📊 Sharing data, good practice, or case studies from your service
💷 Championing the CoP within your directorate or organisation
🔗 Connecting us to other networks, groups, or professionals who should be in the room
If you or someone in your team could contribute, please get in touch. The CoP only works because people across the system make time for it.
📧 If you want to discuss helping the CoP, please email: kmmh.ld-autism-admin@nhs.net
Subject line: Community of Practice
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