Universal Design for Safety
Also Known as the Safety Positive Method
Let’s Start With a Question
Have you ever done something in a situation and later thought:
“That wasn’t what I was taught… but it worked.”
Or maybe:
“I didn’t know what to do, but I figured something out in the moment.”
That’s not luck.
That’s your method.
Most People Already Have One
You already make choices about your safety every day:
Who you trust
How you respond
When you speak up
When you leave
You’ve been building your own system this whole time.
Most people just haven’t been told they’re allowed to.
So What Is This?
The Universal Design for Safety Method is a way to understand, strengthen, and build on what you are already doing.
Not replace it
Not correct it
Build on it
In community spaces, we call this the Safety Positive Method.
Because there is no one right way.
There is your way.
Created by Amy SP Wilson
This method was developed through years of lived experience, teaching, and working alongside the disabled community.
It comes from seeing what happens when people are told to follow systems that were never built for them.
And what becomes possible when they are given the space to build their own.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Someone in our community was touched without their consent.
Before learning with Safety Positive, they would have stayed quiet.
Instead, they said no.
And it stopped.
That moment didn’t come from memorizing a script.
It came from understanding they had a choice, a voice, and the ability to use it.
That is the method in action.
Where Most Safety Training Misses
Most programs focus on one area:
Physical techniques
Awareness drills
Communication scripts
But safety is not one thing.
It’s how everything works together.
The Safety Positive Pillars
Safety is built across multiple areas of your life that work together.
At Safety Positive, we call these the pillars.
Community
The people around you matter:
Who you trust
Who supports you
Who you can turn to
Safety is stronger when it is not built alone.
Intellectual
How you think, communicate, and process situations:
Mental awareness
Emotional understanding
Verbal communication
This is where boundaries are set and decisions are made.
Physical
How you move and care for your body:
Skills
Care
Fuel
This is not about doing things perfectly.
It is about doing what works for your body.
Sensory
How you experience the world around you:
Your body
Your environment
Your intuition
This is where awareness becomes action.
More Than Just Pillars
Each of these pillars goes deeper.
Within them are sub-pillars, skill-building frameworks, and resources designed to help individuals grow in ways that fit their life.
This work is not surface level.
It is something you build over time through practice, support, and real-life application.
We teach this more in-depth through our trainings, including the Safety Positive Reset, and in future materials being developed.
Because safety is not something you understand once.
It is something you continue to build.
Safety Positive and Safety Negative
Some choices will move you forward.
Some won’t.
That’s part of the process.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is building more safety positive moments over time.
This Is Where the Shift Happens
When people realize they have a say in how their safety is built:
They start making different choices
They start speaking up
They start trusting themselves
That’s when safety becomes something they live.
Not something they were told.
Start Your Safety Journey
