A suicide prevention intervention has been created for autistic adults to identify ways to reduce suicide and self-harm.
The suicide prevention trial by experts at the University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology and Newcastle University tested autism-adapted safety plans with a group of autistic people and found that almost two-thirds found them useful.
Dr Sarah Cassidy from the University of Nottingham and Professor Jacqui Rodgers from Newcastle University led the research and have previously shown that autistic people are at a greater risk of self-harm and suicide compared to non-autistic people. Despite this, there is a lack of research into what could reduce this risk.
Why suicide prevention plans are important?
Safety plans are a personal step-by-step plan a person can make to keep themselves safe. They typically include a person’s reason for living, activities and people that help distract from thoughts of self-harm, friends, and professionals the person can contact for support. Safety plans have proven they reduce self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in a range of groups, but never before in autistic people.
Developing and testing a safety plan for autistic people
In this new research, the team tested a suicide prevention safety plan specifically aimed at autistic people with 49 participants. The autism-adapted safety plans (AASP) are more accessible for autistic people with clear wording. Best practices for communication and crisis support are available in the plan for support workers. The team also developed a resource pack with guidance to help autistic people and their support team complete an AASP together successfully.
The autism-adapted safety plans (AASP) were tested with autistic adults who completed it with a service provider to refine the AASP and study processes further. They were asked to complete questionnaires before, one, and six months after consenting to the study.
Most (68%) of the autistic adults were satisfied with the AASP, saying their experience of using the AASP was positive and suggested minor changes to make some of the questionnaires clearer.
“This research builds on our work to establish a better pathway for mental health support for autistic people that is tailored to their and their family’s specific needs. Working with autistic people to trial a new adapted safety plan has allowed us to gain insight into what they need so this can now be fed into a larger trial to investigate whether AASP reduces self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviours in autistic adults,” added Dr Sarah Cassidy.
