A critical hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a buff for autistic people.
Gray Atherton, Rhys Hathaway, Ingela Visuri and 1 others
PMID 39166536WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic adults described tabletop role-playing as a safe space where they could connect without masking.
The game's structure and shared interest reduced social anxiety, allowing friendships to form and enabling emotional exploration through characters.
Key findings
01Participants reported that the structured nature of the game and the shared interest among autistic players made social interaction easier and reduced the need to mask.
02Players described forming genuine friendships and feeling a sense of community, with the game acting as a buffer against social rejection.
03Participants experienced 'bleed', where their emotional investment in their character influenced their real-life self-concept, allowing them to explore identity and perspective.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (8 participants), so the findings cannot be generalised to all autistic adults. Participants were self-selected from online gaming communities and already had experience with tabletop games, meaning the results may not apply to those who have never tried this hobby or find it unappealing. The study relied on self-reported experiences after a short six-session campaign, so it cannot determine long-term effects on mental health or social skills. The game master was also a researcher, which could have influenced the group dynamic or the participants' willingness to share certain experiences.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that Dungeons & Dragons treats social anxiety or improves communication skills. This is a small qualitative study describing the subjective experiences of eight adults who already enjoyed gaming. It does not measure clinical outcomes, and the results may not apply to autistic people who do not like tabletop games or who have different social needs.