Huh. Interesting thought.
My dad works with autism... I have to check if they've ever considered something like that.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The difference between gamer and aspergers gets a little blurry. Helps to have someone a little closer to you on the wavelength sometimes...
Sounds like an awesome idea to me. Great way to encourage social interaction in a safe and fun setting, with an activity that is both orderly and creative. I wonder if something similar has ever been tried?
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I imagine the poor sod who has to try and make several autistic kids play a RPG together. If he doesn't go insane in a few weeks, he will succeed.
Humor aside, i think it is a great idea. There is an autistic kid in my building, and i sometimes go to his place so we can play video games on his console. His mother tells me that it really makes him happy. Kinda makes me feel warm inside.
I've been told scripted situations and pre meditated roles such as theater are much easier and good practice for someone on the spectrum. I'm sure something similar applies to tabletop RP.
My personal experience is that the results varies between groups and people. People are different. The groups your with when you play table top games aren't always the best at socializing themselves, which can lead to a few problems in itself. A group that's patient and helps them along is can be a great learning experience and low stress. A group that's harsh and unaccepting and doesn't talk about their problems is going to be a very stressful situation, and possibly very confusing if they aren't a little upfront. Some people are great learners and always reflect, others don't notice a thing until you point it.
There was a story about this on NPR or 60 Minutes about 12 years ago (I doubt I could find it easily) and it basically said just as everyone is saying. Something like an rpg can be very good to simulate interactions and allow for some reflection without wholly negative consequences for poor interactions. One thing I remember in the article was talking about the alignment system (3.0 days) and how to value certain bonuses/penalties. In many ways, it allowed for a very scientific approach (mathematical might be a better description) to unscientific problems.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I have an autistic son. While I believe that playing Pathfinder would be very good for him, he has absolutely zero interest in playing. It has been my experience with him and others in the groups we have worked with that if he doesn't want to do something, making him do it greatly increases his stress levels and leads to more, not less, outbursts.
So if you have an autistic person who has an interest in playing RPGs, I suspect it would help them greatly to learn to deal with social situations. But I doubt you could do much to get spectrum disorder kids who have no interest to benefit much from it.
|
I have aspergers. When I got into RPGs it was my obsession. I did not know I had it at that time. But looking back, my time playing did help me in social situations. But at times I did have trouble figuring out if people were speaking in character or not. There was also an issue a few times when I thought they other players were messing with me, not my character.
I agree that someone with high functioning autism has to want to play. If you force them then they will resist you.
I also think you should only do this with a couple of HFA in the group and not the whole group.
What CapeCod said basically goes for me. I got into D&D, it led me to a lot of things that guided me to be better in social situations.
What CapeCod said basically goes for me. I got into D&D, it led me to a lot of things that guided me to be better in social situations.
It mostly taught me people are jerks. Important lesson in life, but ideally people look for a more optimistic solution and lesson.
I have a nephew with aspergers. He is 12. He has very particular interests (WWE, Robot Combat League, Lego Star Wars and a few other things). He got into this local group that meets once a month and from what I hear, he started talking and they all knew the same things.
If he was into RPG, I would know it immediately. The kid enjoys my company when ever I am at his house. The kid would be the ultimate rules Lawyer if he ever got into the game because he remembers what he likes.
Anyway, I agree. You would need a group of these kids that like the same thing otherwise it would be a war zone. Unless you could get them to play Never Winter Nights or the like.
The thing about D&D is it can lure in people who would normally avoid social settings. You don't need a background in dealing with autistics, you just need to get him to socialize. :P
It would probably not be of much benefit unless the DM and at least several of the players have the professional background in relating to autistic children.
I learned this the hard way. My one gamer horror story is actually the result of a friend's autistic brother who we invited to game with us. I don't know what defines high-fuctioning autism, but he was smart as all get-out -- but totally inept socially, of course.
Long story short, I eventually had to kick him from the group -- losing his sister (my friend) in the process -- after months of getting progressively more difficult. Even with my friend sitting next to him, who's essentially a third parent for him, he only went downhill from day one.
So akolbi, I'm curious if you're the parent of the autistic person, or a professional, or neither?
I think the concept could work as an additional tool for someone who is already successfully responding to therapy to increase social skills.
The problem with gaming is the added layer of abstractness to social situations. People behave oddly to things happening in the game, or what would be inappropriate if those things were actually happening. I know I've smiled and been excited when something horrible happened to my character, because I knew it was going to make for an excellent addition to the overall story. That probably wouldn't be helpful for a person who is having difficulty understanding social context.
I could see a high functioning autistic adult who wanted a regularly scheduled social event benefiting from roleplaying, but it's more the general interaction in a semi-controlled environment, combined with a recreational activity.