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Supporting Autism Friendly Environments (SAFE) Program

Inside the Cassell Colesium SAFE space, a small, colorful room away from the noise of the game that includes bean bags, a cushioned floor, a play tents and other soft items. Two volunteers are sitting on the left side.
SAFE space at a VT Women's Basketball Game. VT Doodle drawn by Steven White.

The Supporting Autism Friendly Environments (SAFE) Program cultivates inclusive spaces, enabling belonging and full participation. 

Programming and community training is free and run by knowledgeable faculty and students.

Program Overview

Autistic adults and children face everyday challenges which make their participation in community activities difficult. For example, their sensory hypersensitivities can prevent them from enjoying a basketball game, a live performance, a fireworks demonstration, or a trip to the movies.

For 10 years, the SAFE program has upheld Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission, Ut Prosim, by providing greater access for individuals to attend local venues and participate in community activities. 

For over 10 years, the SAFE Program has upheld Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission, "Ut Prosim" (That I may serve.), by working in the community to provide greater access for autistic individuals. We do this by:

  • consulting with community organizations, businesses, and campus partners to determine low or no-cost interventions for their events
  • training interested parties/teams/employees on how to implement a SAFE event
  • partnering with a variety of organizations to host SAFE events for the community

The SAFE Program's partners have included the Hokie BugFest, the VT Women's Basketball Team, Moss Arts Center, the Lyric Theater, the VT Physics Department’s K-12 Outreach Program, the Universal Design course at VT, the VT Science Festival, Housing and Residential Life, Theta Delta Chi fraternity’s “Bro’s United” mentoring program, Kids Tech University, the Panhellenic Council at VT, and the VT ICAT Creativity and Innovation Day, and more.

 

The SAFE Team

Head shot of Lavinia, who is pictured against a gray backdrop and is wearing a beige sweater. Her dark brown hair is cut short and stylish, she is wearing small earrings and has dark eyes.

Dr. Lavinia-Carmen Uscătescu is a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist currently serving as a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech. She earned her PhD from Paris-Lodron University in Salzburg, Austria, working on a thesis about connectivity in mental disorders, and holds master's degrees in Neuro-Cognitive Psychology from Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich and in Clinical Psychology from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Her research centers on autism and psychosis, and she uses techniques such as eye-tracking and neuroimaging. She previously worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center at Yale School of Medicine and Hartford Healthcare's Institute of Living. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her cats, drawing, reading , and circus arts such as aerial yoga and lyra hoop.

Nisha is standing on a wooden deck surrounded by potted plants and trees in the background. She is wearing a long blue dress with brown sandals. Her dark hair is pulled up in a bun and she is smiling.

Nisha Shankar is currently a senior at Virginia Tech, double majoring in psychology in criminology. She has joined the team as the Campus internEXP SAFE Coordinator, working with a number of different groups to learn more about autism and how to host sensory friendly events that directly involve local organizations and other community partners. Additionally, she will be in charge of conducting SAFE trainings and managing the events that are held by the SAFE program.

After working as an ESOL tutor in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg area for high school students, she realized a deficit in education for those that learn differently as well as in their ability to communicate how they learn (particularly neurodivergence in students from Spanish speaking families). Upon graduating, she plans to get certified as a behavior technician and work in ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy before going on to get her doctorate, focusing on her research passion of children's neuropsychological development. In her free time, she loves to workout, run, read, and try out different recipes for her friends. 

 

Join our SAFE community

Would you like to receive information about upcoming SAFE events and learn how to get more involved?  Scan this QR code and complete the interest form to join our email listserv.

You can also email us at vtcar-safe@vt.edu with questions or ideas.

black and white QR code used for scanning

Stay in-the-know about our SAFE programming through our VTCAR fall and spring weekly e-newletter and via our Facebook and Instagram pages.  See information about our SAFE interest form below.

SAFE Community Champion Awards

The success of the SAFE program depends on community partners who are willing to "champion" the mission and goals of the SAFE program. To be eligible for this award, one must exemplify the qualities of resilience, determination, accommodation, and strength, especially in the face of neurotypical obstacles. Winners are individuals who have demonstrated how a fulfilling, comfortable, accommodating experience can be created outside of typical expectations.  

We thank the following individuals and their organizations for being our SAFE Community Champions through the years:

2017 Susan Mattingly and the Lyric Theatre

2018 Mike Weaver and Hokie BugFest

2019 Phyllis Newbill and the Virginia Tech Science Festival

2020 Jordan Albright, VTCAR PANDA Lab graduate student clinician

2022 Tori Thurston, Assistant Director of Marketing and Fan Experience for VT and the VT Women's Basketball Team.  

2025 Marcus Austin and Charlie Merriam and the Simple Fixins Food Truck

Image is from our recent 2025 autism conference. Meghan Walsh (left), SAFE student coordinator, presented the SAFE award to Marcus (middle) and Charlie (right) while all at the podium. VTCAR director, Angela Scarpa, is on the far right.
Congratulations to our SAFE Community Champions! Marcus and Charlie accepted the award from SAFE undergraduate coordinator Meghan Walsh.

VTCAR congratulates the dynamic father-son duo, Charlie Merriam and Marcus Austin and their Simple Fixins Food Truck!  They work diligently to conquer the demands of the neurotypical world in ways that work for them, while teaching others about the importance of the comfort of autistic individuals.  Visit their food truck, Simple Fixins, as soon as you can!