Atherton Gray, Hathaway Rhys, Visuri Ingela, Cross Liam
University of Plymouth, UK.
Edge Hill University, UK.
Autism. 2025 Feb;29(2):382-394. doi: 10.1177/13623613241275260. Epub 2024 Aug 21.
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.
桌面角色扮演游戏（TTRPGs）是一种广受欢迎的爱好，可能会为自闭症患者带来特定的社交益处。本研究调查了TTRPGs提供一个安全空间的能力，在这个空间里，成年自闭症患者可以在进行角色塑造和创造世界的过程中与其他成年自闭症患者建立关系。一组八名成年自闭症患者被分成两组，并在一名研究人员主持下，参与了一场为期6周的简化版线上《龙与地下城》活动。然后，该研究人员主持了一系列个人半结构化访谈，讨论参与者在TTRPG内外互动的感受。几个关键主题被确定为自闭症患者能从这样一个环境中受益的重要方面。分析表明，虽然现实生活中的互动可能具有挑战性，但在TTRPG游戏中，他们觉得遇到的困难要少得多。结果表明，TTRPGs可以提供一个安全的空间环境，让成年自闭症患者能够与志同道合的人进行富有成效的社交互动。它还可能让自闭症参与者体验到“情感渗透”，即能够扮演一个新角色，从而改变他们在游戏之外对自己的看法。本文讨论了这项工作的未来方向。
