<
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/09/09/dd-once-the-subject-of-moral-panic-found-therapeutic-in-autism-cases-in-study/>
"Regular readers here will know we are no strangers to talking about
Dungeons
& Dragons or moral panics. Those two topics are often interrelated, given the
moral panic history of the tabletop game itself, as well as how it should
inform us in our reaction to more modern moral panics. After all, where once
some of the public believed that allowing their children to play
D&D would
turn them into violent, Satan-worshipping death-zombies, that is precisely what
the view of video games has been more recently. With
D&D, the moral panic
wave crested long ago, receding away to the modern acceptance, nay rising
popularity of the game. Along with that have come studies showing that playing
games like
D&D are good for young writers, or have applications in therapy
for children. And just like with
D&D, we’re now finally starting to see the
same view taken with video games, serving as treatment for conditions like
ADHD, or to treat PTSD.
We should expect those new positive applications for video games to continue to
be developed, as evidenced by how studies for how to use
D&D in therapy are
still coming out. In this specific case, a small study was done with those
living with autism, who played through a weeks long campaign together and were
interviewed about their experiences afterwards.
Over the last decade or so, researchers have turned their focus more heavily
to the ways in which D&D and other TRPGs can help people with autism form
healthy social connections, in part because the gaming environment offers
clear rules around social interactions. According to the authors of a new
paper published in the journal Autism, D&D helped boost players’
confidence with autism, giving them a strong sense of kinship or belonging,
among other benefits.
“There are many myths and misconceptions about autism, with some of the
biggest suggesting that those with it aren’t socially motivated, or don’t
have any imagination,” said co-author Gray Atherton, a psychologist at the
University of Plymouth. “Dungeons & Dragons goes against all that,
centering around working together in a team, all of which takes place in a
completely imaginary environment. Those taking part in our study saw the
game as a breath of fresh air, a chance to take on a different persona and
share experiences outside of an often challenging reality. That sense of
escapism made them feel incredibly comfortable, and many of them said they
were now trying to apply aspects of it in their daily lives.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
