Goodwin Jane, Gordon Isabel, O'Keeffe Sally, Carling Scarlett, Berresford Anya, Bhattarai Nawaraj, Heslop Phil, Nielsen Emma, O'Connor Rory C, Ogundimu Emmanuel, Pelton Mirabel, Ramsay Sheena E, Rodgers Jacqui, Townsend Ellen, Vale Luke, Wilson Colin, Cassidy Sarah
Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom.
School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Autism Adulthood. 2025 May 28;7(3):293-302. doi: 10.1089/aut.2023.0124. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Autistic adults are at greater risk of self-harm and suicide than the general population. One promising intervention in the general population is safety planning. We aimed to seek advice from autistic adults and others in the autism community on how to adapt safety plans for autistic adults.
We conducted focus groups with autistic adults ( = 15), family members ( = 5), and service providers ( = 10), about their views of the Autism Adapted Safety Plan (AASP). We also conducted interviews about the acceptability of the AASP with autistic adults who had developed an AASP ( = 8) and with service providers who had supported them ( = 8). We analyzed the focus group and interview transcripts using thematic analysis.
Theme 1 highlights conditions needed to make the process of creating the AASP acceptable for autistic adults. This included creating the AASP with someone they could trust and at the right place and time, when they were not in distress or in crisis. Theme 2 describes how safety planning needed to be a creative, flexible, and iterative process. Autistic adults may need help in expressing their emotions and identifying coping strategies, which can be supported through visual resources and suggestions from the service provider. To ensure that the AASP is accessible in times of crisis, it needs to meet the autistic adults' preferences in terms of formatting and how it is stored (, hard copy or electronic).
The AASP is a potentially valuable intervention for autistic adults, provided that the process of creating it is flexible and sensitive to individual needs. Further testing of the AASP to assess its clinical effectiveness in reducing suicidal behavior could provide a life-saving intervention for autistic adults.
ISRCTN70594445, Protocol v4: 8/2/22.
与普通人群相比，成年自闭症患者自残和自杀的风险更高。在普通人群中，一种有前景的干预措施是制定安全计划。我们旨在就如何为成年自闭症患者调整安全计划，征求成年自闭症患者及自闭症群体中的其他人员的意见。
我们与成年自闭症患者（n = 15）、家庭成员（n = 5）和服务提供者（n = 10）进行了焦点小组讨论，了解他们对自闭症适应性安全计划（AASP）的看法。我们还采访了已制定AASP的成年自闭症患者（n = 8）和支持过他们的服务提供者（n = 8），询问他们对AASP可接受性的看法。我们使用主题分析法对焦点小组讨论和访谈记录进行了分析。
主题1强调了使创建AASP的过程为成年自闭症患者所接受所需的条件。这包括与他们信任的人，在合适的地点和时间，即在他们没有痛苦或处于危机状态时创建AASP。主题2描述了安全计划需要是一个创造性、灵活且反复的过程。成年自闭症患者在表达情绪和确定应对策略方面可能需要帮助，这可以通过视觉资源和服务提供者的建议来提供支持。为确保AASP在危机时刻可用，它需要在格式和存储方式（例如，纸质版或电子版）方面满足成年自闭症患者的偏好。
AASP对成年自闭症患者可能是一种有潜在价值的干预措施，前提是创建它的过程灵活且对个体需求敏感。对AASP进行进一步测试以评估其在减少自杀行为方面的临床效果，可能会为成年自闭症患者提供一种挽救生命的干预措施。
ISRCTN70594445，方案版本4：2022年2月8日。
