Safety Planning for Neurodivergent Clients (Quick Read)

Part of the Topic Index: Suicide Prevention · Clinical Practice

The Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention has strong evidence behind it — but wasn't built with autistic or ADHD presentation in mind.

A VA study of 1,600+ patients found one suicidal behavior event prevented for every 44 patients who got the safety plan plus follow-up, versus usual care. Solid, brief, low-cost.

Newcastle University's Autism Adapted Safety Plan (AASP) completed a pilot RCT with promising feasibility results — built with autistic adults, not translated after the fact. A full-scale trial is still needed.

Concrete, pre-scripted steps beat vague prompts ("text this specific friend this specific line," not "reach out to someone"). For RSD-driven crises, build in an explicit friction-inserting step given how fast the window closes. For shutdown, a phone call may be harder to execute than a pre-written text.

Use a validated template as scaffolding, then adapt language and format to the client's neurotype. If a client "didn't use the plan," treat that as information about the plan's fit, not their engagement.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out: call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Well wishes. 🙏

Mx. Love C. Dialogos, LMFT · Buddhist Chaplain Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist | Buddhist Chaplain Pronouns: They/Them

Explore Topics: #suicideprevention #safetyplanning #autism #ADHD #neurodivergent #StanleyBrown