What does this research mean for the field?

Teaching emergency safety skills to autistic individuals, particularly through in-situ training, results in positive skill acquisition and maintenance, although the current evidence base is limited by low methodological quality and a lack of studies on older adults. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.SYNTHESIS. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To identify and evaluate empirical interventions designed to teach emergency safety skills to autistic children and adults.

September 8, 2026Review Journal of Autism and Developmental DisordersOpen Access

Teaching Safety Skills for Emergency Situations to Autistic Individuals: A Rapid Literature Review

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Authors

JFJenny ; id_orcid 0000-0003-3950-3732 FergusonQueen's University Belfast ALAngeliki LouloumariLeiden University DSDionysios SerrasHellenic Naval Academy

Discussion

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Implication

Rapid review reveals positive emergency skill acquisition through in-situ training in autistic individuals, highlighting the need for higher-quality evidence and adult-focused interventions.

Key Points

To identify and evaluate empirical interventions designed to teach emergency safety skills to autistic children and adults.
Conducted a rapid literature review of empirical studies training autistic individuals to respond safely across diverse emergency scenarios.
Evaluated methodological quality using the What Works Clearinghouse standards across 40 identified studies involving 143 autistic individuals (mean age 9.3 years, range 3–25 years).
Safety training demonstrated positive effects for skill acquisition, generalization, and maintenance, with in-situ instruction in real-world settings yielding the highest efficacy.
Over 50% of the included studies failed to satisfy minimum What Works Clearinghouse quality standards.
Identified scenarios were restricted in scope and lacked representation for older autistic adults, underscoring potential applications for virtual reality simulations in hard-to-replicate hazards.

Cite This Study

Ferguson et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd82f58e84d0ff5b477b7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-026-00583-9

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Implication

Rapid review reveals positive emergency skill acquisition through in-situ training in autistic individuals, highlighting the need for higher-quality evidence and adult-focused interventions.

Teaching Safety Skills for Emergency Situations to Autistic Individuals: A Rapid Literature Review

Discussion

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Teaching Safety Skills for Emergency Situations to Autistic Individuals: A Rapid Literature Review

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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