What If Calm Is A Warning Sign:  Autism and Suicide Prevention

Putting Black Girls at Promise Through Community Support

If you’ve ever wondered why some mental health programs actually stick while others fade after a single event, this conversation is for you and your organization. We’re joined by Fran Frazier of the Black Girl Rising Research Project and Rebecca Jones, Child and Adolescent Services Director with the Mental Health Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County.  This episode is centered on what it takes to support African American girls with honesty, rigor, and care. We start with the reality many Black girls face in Ohio: higher exposure to trauma, community violence, instability, and chronic stress. Then we move to what doesn’t get enough airtime in suicide prevention and youth mental health work: resilience, leadership, and the power of being taken seriously. Fran shares how decades of research and listening shaped a girl-led model that replaces lectures with facilitation.  Rebecca walks us through what it looks like to bring Black Girl Rising into a new community with fidelity, including Love Letters to Black Girls, mother-daughter conversations, and the long-game goal of growing girls grow into ambassadors.  Subscribe, share this with someone who cares about youth wellbeing, and leave a review so more listeners can find these suicide prevention conversations.

What If Calm Is A Warning Sign:  Autism and Suicide Prevention

Autistic people are at higher risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, yet too many support systems still treat autism and mental health as separate worlds. Stepanie and Scott sit down with Lisa Morgan, an autistic adult and founder of the Autism and Suicide Prevention Work Group, and Dr. Brenna Maddox, a clinical psychologist and co-chair of the work group, to talk about what that gap looks like in real life and how to close it. We unpack how language preferences differ, why a strengths-based view of autism matters, and how the social model and neurodiversity-affirming care can replace the harmful idea that autistic people need to be 'fixed'. Then we go straight at the misconceptions that can increase suicide risk, including the dangerous habit of skipping suicide risk questions just because someone is autistic. We also explore a theme we hear again and again: invalidation. Not being believed can be constant, and it can push suicidal ideation higher.  Our conversation is very practical too. Some warning signs can look different for autistic people, including intense internal crisis paired with a calm exterior, and alexithymia that makes emotions hard to name. We point listeners to autism-specific crisis support resources, including guidance for using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and tools like a reasons-for-living worksheet that can help even when therapy is hard to access. If you care about autism suicide prevention, share this conversation, subscribe for more, and leave a review so more people can find these resources when they need them most.

When Infection Hijacks The Mind: PANS and PANDAS Explained

Overnight personality changes are every parent’s nightmare, especially when the symptoms don’t fit a neat box. Scott and Stephanie are joined by Gabriella True, President and founding Board Member of Aspire, to explain PANS and PANDAS in plain language and with hard-earned honesty.  Gabriella brings professional advocacy plus lived experience as a mom of twins impacted by PANS and as someone who has dealt with PANS/PANDAS symptoms herself. We dig into what makes pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome so alarming: sudden OCD, restricted eating, and complex tics that can arrive with severe separation anxiety, rage, urinary changes, and mood swings. We talk about why some kids don’t show “typical” infection signs, how strep and other triggers can set off a neuroimmune response, and why calling these shifts “symptoms” instead of “behavior” can change how families and clinicians respond. Gabriella also walks us through today’s treatment framework including infectious triggers and reducing inflammation alongside careful psychiatric support.  The conversation doesn’t skip the hardest part: suicide risk, the reality of hospitalization, and the urgent need for coordinated medical and mental health care. If this helps you put words to what you’re seeing at home, share it with someone who needs it, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review so more families can find these resources when time matters most.

How One Woman Turned Two Decades of Anxiety and Depression Into a Mission to Break Stigma

A raw, generous conversation with iHeart radio personality and OSPF ambassador Sol Tsonis that transforms stigma into strategy and rock bottom into a starting line. Sol takes us into the moments that shaped her mental health journey—from early depression and anxiety in her teens to the deliberate, imperfect climb toward stability. We talk about the turning points that matter: choosing a short course of medication as a bridge, returning to therapy until the fit clicked, and cleaning up friendships and habits that kept her stuck. Sol reframes self-care as maintenance, not luxury—movement to burn off stress, gratitude to anchor attention, and scheduled “me time”.   She pairs heart with data, reminding us that activity, social connection, and rest are directly tied to longer, healthier lives. Sol also pulls back the curtain on social media’s highlight reel and the comparison traps that steal joy. Her fix is useful honesty: practical tips on seasonal depression, phone limits, and micro-habits that turn scrolling into learning.  If you’re struggling silently, you’ll hear a clear path forward: tell one trusted person, try therapy even when you’re “fine,” and choose one daily practice that protects your spark. If this conversation gives you hope or a next step, share it with someone you love and subscribe for more real talk on mental health and suicide prevention.

Local Voices Together Create National Impact on Suicide Prevention

A dinner conversation sparked a movement. We sit down with leaders from SAVE and Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation CEO Tony Coder to share how the National Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (NSPAN) is helping small and mid-sized nonprofits combine their strengths, talents and passions! The idea is simple but ambitious: when community groups connect and collaborate, proven strategies scale faster, funding pathways open, and lives are saved. We talk through the four pillars that guide the work—education and training, advocacy, lethal means safety, and support for suicide loss survivors—and why they matter now. The data is shifting: while some demographics improve, suicide risk is climbing among women, preteens, and rural communities tied to a struggling agricultural economy.  Technology looms large in this conversation too. Social media can harm, yet responsible AI and digital tools may help identify risk and connect people to care sooner. The keys are safeguards and smart design paired with human support. We also spotlight 988—the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline—and the surprising awareness gap among young workers. If you lead or support a suicide prevention nonprofit, or if you’re a community member who wants to help, this is your invite to lean in. Learn how to join NSPAN, collaborate on funding and advocacy, and carry solutions across county and state lines. Subscribe, share this episode with a local organization, and leave a review to help more people find these stories to hopefully, save more lives.