Your Story Isn’t Over Yet

Each September, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recognizes Suicide Prevention Month as a time to raise awareness, spread hope, and ignite action around suicide, one of the most urgent mental health crises today. And one way this is done is through communication.

One conversation, simply asking how someone is really doing, and then being ready to actively listen, can save someone’s life. September is about having these conversations and communicating openly about suicide prevention, warning signs, tools, and resources. However, for individuals with complex communication, this discussion can look different. Below are some various communication tools and things to consider when talking about suicide.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

AAC devices and tools (e.g., communication boards, speech generating devices) may not have icons that represent suicide directly, but instead focus on “help seeking”, “crisis”, or “emotional distress”.

• An image of a head with a storm cloud can represent distressing or suicidal thoughts, an icon showing a person reaching out to another person might indicate the person needs help, and icons for “sad”, or “unhappy” can indicate that a person might be experiencing emotional distress.
• Use core vocabulary that the person already knows and uses to initiate the conversation.
• Social stories can be used to talk about suicide awareness, prevention, and detection.

Visual Gestural Communication (VGC):

• Understand the individuals’ gestures, body language, and facial expressions so that you can tell if the person is experiencing distress.
• Mirror the individual’s body language and expressions to show understanding and empathy.
• Use visual aids (e.g., communication cards with key phrases like “I’m hurting” or “help”) to enhance communication.
• Understand that VGC varies significantly across cultures, and that cultural differences can also influence how suicide is perceived.

American Sign Language (ASL):

• Recognize that ASL users should be considered a linguistic and cultural minority who have unique needs and barriers.
• ASL users often use blunt and descriptive language; they may understand you better if you do the same.
• Ask if the person would like to talk to you using an ASL-English interpreter, so that you don’t miss any important information.
• Refer the individual to culturally competent providers, like DeafLEAD or Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Hearing Loss 988 Lifeline.

Project Semicolon – Communicating Hope with a Symbol

Project Semicolon has its own unique way of communicating about suicide. A global faith-based non-profit movement started by Amy Bleuel on April 16, 2013, this project is dedicated toward raising awareness and presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, and self-injury.

Their mission revolves around a simple, yet notorious symbol, the semicolon. Project semicolon explains that “A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended but chose not to. That author is you and the sentence is your life.” This symbol has been used to represent suicide awareness and prevention. It communicates that, Your Story Isn’t Over Yet.

Start a Conversation. Be the Difference.