Out and About: Strategies for Planning Safe & Successful Community Group Outings with Neurodiverse System-Involved Youth

Shoshana Phoenixx

Training Description

Community outings provide opportunities to build confidence, social connection, and real-world practice for neurodiverse system-involved youth (SIY), but public spaces also bring sensory load and unpredictable social demands. This training focuses on planning and facilitating group outings with enough structure to support safety for youth while leaving enough flexibility for youth capacity, communication access, and changing needs. With a focus on locations around the San Francisco Bay Area, participants will explore how to evaluate a range of local environments—from parks and waterfronts to museums, transit systems, and community centers—while considering regional factors such as crowd density, transportation access, and environmental variability. Participants will practice evaluating outing locations, preparing youth for what may happen, and adjusting plans when the environment asks more than a youth can manage.

Learning Objectives

• Identify three environmental features that may affect sensory access, communication, or safety during community group outings for SIY.