Suicide — it’s a topic too disturbing and raw for most people to discuss. For some, it’s a cultural taboo filled with an underlying fear that talking about it will increase the chances someone at risk will attempt it.

There are 5,800 students identified with ASD currently in Ontario’s publicly funded secondary schools. School staff expect that approximately 1,100 of these students will seek to enter college or university between 2009 and 2011.