Autism Adapted Safety Plans
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Adapted suicide safety plans to address self harm, suicidal ideation and suicide behaviours in autistic adults: an intervention single arm feasibility trial and external pilot randomised controlled trial
IRAS ID
280742
Contact name
Jacqui Rodgers
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN70594445
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 28 days
Research summary
Suicide is more common in autistic people than in people without this diagnosis. Around 66% of autistic adults have considered suicide, much higher than the UK general population where the rate is about 17%. No research has explored autism suicide prevention strategies. Autistic people require adaptations to be made to standard mental health treatments to make then accessible and meaningful. This research project aims to find out how acceptable and feasible an adapted version of a well-established suicide prevention strategy (Safety Plans) are for use with autistic adults with a history of self-harm, suicidal thoughts or suicidal behaviours. This research project will be in three stages. In stage one we will consult with autistic adults, family members and professionals working with autistic people about our safety plans and other aspects of the research to ensure that they are fit for purpose. In stage 2 we will recruit 10 autistic adults and ask them to use the plans and complete a number of questionnaires about their thoughts, feeling and behaviours. We will ask for their feedback on all of the procedures, as well as feedback from their support workers. In stage 3 we will recruit 70 autistic adults who have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings who will be allocated by a computer to either use our adapted safety plans or receive their usual care package. We will follow up participants up at one month and six months and ask them to complete a range of measures to tell us about their thoughts feelings and behaviours, whether they used the plan and what they thought about it. At the end of the study we will have useful information about whether the adapted safety plans are acceptable and usable by autistic adults, whether the questionnaires and interviews we have chosen are appropriate.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
20/WA/0101
Date of REC Opinion
19 May 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion