Safety, Connection, and Personal Growth: Experiences of Tabletop Role Play Game Groups Amongst Autistic Adolescents and Emerging Adults

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. Community Brief Why is this an important issue? Autistic people are more likely to feel lonely due to negative social experiences and feelings of being excluded. This can lead to difficulties with mental and physical health, including masking, depression, anxiety, burnout, and suicidality. Tabletop role play games (TTRPGs) are games in which a group of people work together to create and experience a story, often guided by a Game Master. The most well-known TTRPG is Dungeons and Dragons. Each player can decide on their unique character. TTRPGs may help autistic teenagers and young adults feel less lonely and more connected. What was the purpose of this study? We wanted to understand how TTRPGs led by people in the community may impact the loneliness and friendships of autistic teenagers and young adults. What did the researchers do? We interviewed 13 autistic adolescents and young adults aged between 14 and 29 years who lived in Australia and had a range of TTRPG experiences. They participated mainly in socially-led TTRPGs, which had no therapists involved. We developed interview questions with input from an autistic advisor. The interview questions asked about positive and negative experiences of TTRPGs. We then found the common themes that autistic young people talked about. What were the results and conclusions of the study? The autistic people in our study said that TTRPG groups created safe spaces where they could connect with others without masking, due to being able to explore through their characters. TTRPGs brought mainly positive experiences, with long-term friendships being formed or consolidated. Autistic young people felt more socially confident, more flexible, and learnt life skills that helped outside of the TTRPGs. Most people said they experienced hard times in TTRPGs; however, these situations helped them to learn how to manage conflict, negative experiences and emotions. These findings suggest that TTRPGs can be a neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based way to help autistic adolescents and young adults feel more connected and to develop friendships. What is new or controversial about these findings? Most research in the past has focused on how therapists can develop the social skills of autistic people. Our study found that social confidence, friendships, and connections can be developed through being in safe spaces related to the person’s interests that allow personal growth and exploration, without therapists present. What are the potential weaknesses in the study? We interviewed people in Australia and mostly male participants. Therefore, our study may not reflect the thoughts of everyone, particularly related to masking, which is more common in autistic females. How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future? These findings suggest that autistic people can enhance their happiness and unmask by engaging in a socially led interest-based group, such as TTRPGs. Autistic adults may feel empowered to know that by finding a safe space with a group of people who have similar interests, they can develop strong friendships and life skills that can be helpful in other areas of their life.