I'm autistic, but I've never found the appeal of D&D. All the challenges and social pitfalls are still there in interacting with other players, but on top of that there's an additional set of unfamiliar rules and expectations for how to play my character and the game. Outside of the social aspect, I don't enjoy it as a game much either, with its slow pace and focus on narrative.
Though, both groups I've played it with consisted of close seasoned players, none of whom I was particularly comfortable with, which isn't the best introduction. I'm curious how much the particular setup in the study affected the outcome, with the social reference sheets and presumably other unique factors - with how much D&D can vary based on the DM and players, it'd be interesting to see this study done with a variety of DMs guiding things in different ways.
The popularity of D&D with people on the spectrum is similar to the popularity of fantasy/sci-fi lit and games and movies for the same population group, and for the same reasons (ime): technical abstractions and a strong focus on "systems" ('logical' magic systems are valorized over 'illogical' ones), often simplistic characters with very clear telegraphed and consistent archetypes, plots with heavy focus on simpler good vs. evil conflict, more chances to identify with non-human characters (a vehicle for expressing divergent thought processes/behaviors).
The difference maker seems to be that well done D&D games, with good DMs, force the players to interact with each other and problem solve together. Which, to me, suggests there's nothing particularly special about D&D beside it being something that people on the spectrum like --- what is special is the social interaction and problem solving. It would be interesting to see how gender plays into further studies. In my experience, autism in women can often look quite different than autism in men (generalizing of course).
I think for me, and maybe this should be obvious - what truly helps is having a good DM.
Because then you’re not just having a chance to ‘play’ at social interactions - you’re playing under the watch of a caring mediator. The DM is going to clarify things, guide the discussions and dialogues, suggest options, correct misassumptions, etc. - in a way that almost no one ever would IRL.
Play-acting social interaction isn’t really any less nerve wracking to me than having a ‘real’ interaction, because to me all interactions are acting anyway as far as I’m concerned. There isn’t any fundamental difference in terms of energy expended - unless someone else, e.g. the DM, is there to shoulder some of that workload. Then it’s a little easier, a little lower stakes.
> Atherton et al. wanted to specifically investigate how autistic players experience D&D when playing in groups with other autistic players. It's essentially a case study with a small sample size—just eight participants
This is a nice study but not one to extrapolate anything from.
Had many similar experiences when role playing in video games like Minecraft with an autistic relative. Him putting his needs and emotions in the context of the game made him readily engage in banter in a way that he would normally have a tough time doing.
Seems like an extension of the observation that very introverted people can unexpectedly flourish in acting professions: I think people who are socially awkward can have an easier time compartmentalizing their social anxieties when under a persona because there's a part of the brain that can say, "It's not me; I'm playing a role."
Most of the result is
"Autistic people are more comfortable playing D&D than in natural social interactions", which is well known.
A small part was that some people "bleed" personality from their fantasy persona to their real persona.
You can do that in D&D, but you can also do that with any kind of self-talk / persona building / masking, which non-autists also do. Actors in movies and plays do it too.
Honestly I think socially awkward people quickly get ostracized, and socially isolated early in life.
Due to this, they get less chances to practice social interaction, something they were somewhat worse at in the first place, and fall even further behind on these skills.
DnD allows them to practice these skills, such as high-stakes social conflict, bargaining, and just plain old getting along, in a relatively safe environment.
Related:
Seminar on "Dungeons and Dragons Group Therapy": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PwP8Jhkl3w
Yes, it does.
Old Sierra Online games helped me learn some social skills and how to deal with life.
All-in podcast was presenting RFK recently who highlighted autism rates of 1/22. Is it just me or is the spectrum of autism now just labeling anyone with social awkwardness or challenges expressing feelings as autistic? Because I feel like there is socially awkward, and then there is 'Dating on the spectrum' level autistic.
I'm not super up to date yet, but is there an actual 'science' based test (blood, dna, something other than observing behaviors). I've seen the diagnosis of l1, l2 and l3 autism, but this isn't cited by the paper (or at least wasn't in my skim).
The paper does indicate that imagination, social interactions and community are benefits from D&D. These benefits aren't specific to autistic people though; all growing kids can benefit from these types of activities and they're challenges that neurotypical kids encounter as well.
I've run games with self-described autistic players, and I found it a supreme challenge.
* Being unable to complete a character sheet unless someone walked them through it and made every decision for them * Being unable to come up with character background * Not being able to communicate if they were coming to a game or not * Being 30-40 mins late without communicating * Walking around, playing on their phone * Demanding handwritten journals / game tracking because the sounds of typing ruined the immersion for them * Constantly having to remind them of rules from session 0, such as 'no alcohol before or during the game' * Extreme arguing over dice rolls * Projecting their trauma onto many character and DM interactions * Showing up with real-life gifts for the DM, expecting in-game rewards
Most recently, I lasted 12 sessions of 4-6 hours each before I cancelled the game. It killed my joy and I haven't DM'd since. It's been years now.
Typing that out made feel sad.
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My wife's an art psychotherapist and I DM for a couple of our kids and their friends. We've talked about this a fair bit - being able to externalise and contain difficult emotions can be extremely powerful. But also just having that relationship of trust, which I think D&D really demands, can be somewhat therapeutic. You're not going to get mocked for being serious, you're not going to get in trouble for being silly, and sometimes when there's conflict it helps to be able to mediate that through your character's persona. And sometimes you really just want to work out your rage and attack the nearest NPC and undo hours of preparation by your friendly local DM, who in turn will seek out his own favoured form of therapy.