You can view a past chat on this topic here: March 7, 2021.

This #AutChat is on self-harm. Please be aware the tag may have difficult or triggering things on it; remember you can mute the hashtag or step away for self-care.

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You may want to let your usual followers know you’ll be discussing self-harm in AutChat over the next hour so they can mute you or the hashtag if needed.

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While #AutChat strives to be supportive, we can’t expect participants to be responsible for each others’ safety.

If you need help, please reach out to an experienced community organization, like https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ (phone & chat options)

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We want you to be safe and well. Before beginning, we suggest thinking of something you can do for self-care if needed—heavy blankets, stimming, comforting music, distracting yourself with TV or games, etc. #AutChat

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For the purpose of this chat, “self-harm” means the kinds of things most people think of when they think of self-harm, like cutting, and also stims that do physical harm to you. #AutChat

Q1: Do you use strategies to reduce your self-harm? What have you found to be helpful? #AutChat

Q2: If you have self-injurious stims and also do other forms of self-harm, do they work differently for you? Do you do them in the same kinds of situations? #AutChat

Q3: Have you found that other people (including healthcare providers) treat self-harm differently if they see it as part of autism, versus part of a mental health condition?

Do you see it differently? #AutChat

Q4: What responses from other people help with self-harm? What responses don’t help? #AutChat

Questions written by @endeverstar and @theoriesofminds.