Safety, connection, and personal growth: Experiences of tabletop role play game groups amongst autistic adolescents and emerging adults
Abstract
Introduction: Autistic people often encounter barriers to social connectedness, leading to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Tabletop role play games (TTRPG) groups have shown potential as a neurodiversity-affirming way to enhance the social connectedness of autistic adolescents and young adults. TTRPGs involve interactive collaborative storytelling through player constructed characters, often with involvement of a Game Master, and include games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Our study aimed to explore the experiences of autistic adolescents and young adults participating in socially led TTRPG groups. Method: We employed a qualitative phenomenological design. Thirteen participants (10 males, 1 female, 2 non-binary/diverse gender) with ages ranging between 14 and 29 years from Australia took part in semi-structured interviews, which we analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: We identified four key themes. Theme 1: Safe space that encouraged happiness, self-expression, and escapism; explored how TTRPGs created a safe environment that encouraged participants to unmask and express themselves through escapism and creativity. Theme 2: Learning to manage group dynamics and resolve conflict; included how TTRPGs provided opportunities to learn through conflict. Theme 3: Connection and belonging through friendships; described how social confidence was facilitated through a sense of belonging in TTRPGs. Theme 4: Personal growth and learning; explored how TTRPGs facilitated development of social and emotional awareness, cognitive flexibility, and problem-solving abilities. Conclusion: Socially-led TTRPG supported autistic adolescents and young adults to explore their authentic selves, feel more socially connected and happier, develop genuine and long-lasting friendships, social confidence, and cognitive skills. Participants experienced conflict in TTRPG groups but described that this enabled development of conflict resolution skills. It is important to note that no therapists were involved in these groups. Future research could explore TTRPGs with mixed neurotype participants to further understand the roles of shared interests in communication between mixed neurotype participants.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Publication Title
Autism in Adulthood
Publisher
Sage
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Copyright
free_to_read
Comments
Peters, A., Woods, J., Aditijo, C., Lang, N., Nguyen, R., Baird, L., Webb, C., McLean, B., & Hatfield, M. (2025). Safety, connection, and personal growth: Experiences of tabletop role play game groups amongst autistic adolescents and emerging adults. Autism in Adulthood. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581251404409