Suicide thoughts and actions have been recognized as problems in the general population of children and young adults throughout the world, with even greater concerns in those on the autism spectrum. Drs. Lipkin and Rybczynski have conducted research on this problem in a national sample and have initiated a program of suicide screening and intervention at their specialty medical center for identifying children at risk for suicide and related concerns. During this program, they will share their research findings and talk about measures being taken for suicide prevention. They will also share the plans for their new research project being funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention aimed at improved suicide screening of children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Paul Lipkin, MD is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, as well as KKI’s Director of Outpatient Medical Services. Dr. Lipkin’s clinical and research careers have focused on the early identification, evaluation, and treatment of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, including autism, learning, and attention disorders, and most recently has focused his efforts on the problem of suicide in children with autism and other disabilities. He was the Director and Principal Investigator of the Interactive Autism Network from 2013 to 2019, overseeing this nationwide online community and research platform and registry of over 60,000 individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. He has provided national leadership on children with special health care needs and disabilities, including autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, through his work with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), where he served as Chair of its Council on Children with Disabilities from 2002 to 2007. He has been a leader on AAP initiatives on developmental screening since 2004, including its 2006 and 2020 guidelines on developmental screening and surveillance. Dr. Lipkin has been honored as the recipient of the AAP’s Arnold J. Capute Award in 2011 for his efforts on behalf of children with disabilities, and as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow in 2010-2011, working in the Office of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Suzanne Rybczynski, M.D. is the Associate Chief Medical Officer at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Rybczynski is board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She joined the faculty at Kennedy Krieger Institute in 2008 as a pediatric hospitalist on the Pediatric Comprehensive Neuro-rehabilitation Unit, serving as medical director from 2010 to 2018. Dr. Rybczynski provides pediatric care to patients on the Inpatient Comprehensive Neuro-rehabilitation Service at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Her clinical interests include spinal cord injury, pediatric chronic pain rehabilitation and post-orthopedic surgery rehabilitation. Her research interests include clinical outcomes in pediatric rehabilitation patients, patient safety, suicide risk screening in outpatient settings and outcomes of children with chronic pain.