Health expert recommends better listening and connection to confront rise in youth suicides

Recent studies show a rise in the number of children attempting to take their own lives. The Washington Poison Center says cases of self-harm or suspected suicide rose 37% in adolescents from 2019 to 2021. That number jumped 58% in patients between the ages of 6 and 12. For many parents of children who attempt suicide there's a common refrain — they didn't see the signs.

KUOW’s Kim Malcolm talked to Dr. Kira Mauseth, co-lead of the Behavioral Health Strike Team at Washington's Department of Health, about why this is happening, and how to address it.