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A critical hit: Dungeons and Dragons as a buff for autistic people
University of Plymouth, UK. GB.
Edge Hill University, UK. GB.
Dalarna University, School of Culture and Society, Religious Studies.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7042-0877
University of Plymouth, UK. GB.
2025 (English)In: Autism, ISSN 1362-3613, E-ISSN 1461-7005, Vol. 29, no 2, p. 382-394Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are popular hobbies that may offer specific social benefits for autistic people. This study investigated the ability of TTRPGs to provide a safe space where autistic adults could develop relationships with other autistic adults while engaging in character and world-building. A group of eight autistic adults were split into two groups and taken through a short-form online Dungeons and Dragons campaign over 6 weeks run by one of the researchers. The researcher then led a series of individual semi-structured interviews discussing how participants felt interacting in and out of the TTRPG. Several key themes were identified as important aspects of why autistic people could benefit from such an environment. Analysis showed that while real-life interactions could be challenging, in TTRPG play, they felt they experienced significantly fewer struggles. Results suggested that TTRPGs can provide a safe space environment where autistic adults can engage in productive social interactions with like-minded individuals. It also may allow autistic participants to experience 'bleed' or the ability to take on a new character that changes the way they feel about themselves outside of the game. Future directions for this work are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. Vol. 29, no 2, p. 382-394
Keywords [en]
D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, RPG, TTRPG, autism, coping, empowerment, fantasy, heroes, neurodivergent
National Category
Sociology Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-49295DOI: 10.1177/13623613241275260ISI: 001419648100008PubMedID: 39166536Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85201688151OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-49295DiVA, id: diva2:1893196
Available from: 2024-08-29 Created: 2024-08-29 Last updated: 2025-10-09Bibliographically approved

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Visuri, Ingela

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
  • chicago-note-bibliography
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf