This year, for the first time, George Blyth will have children to invite to his birthday party.
The elementary school student has autism and made a special group of classmates who play a modified version of Dungeons and Dragons.
The game is run by a Canberra social inclusion role-playing game company called Dice 4 Diversity, which helps children with diverse needs improve their conversation and social skills.
“He’s looking forward to it, it’s the highlight of his week,” his mother Jenelle said.
“There is a group that can fit in.
“Their social skills were improving”
George plays a modified game of Dungeons and Dragons every Saturday with Canberra’s father, Ian Bennett.
A self-described “tragic Dungeon and Dragons player”, Mr Bennett started the company after struggling to gain access to therapeutic services for his three children, who each have different needs.
“We fought the health care system for proper treatment and looked for out-of-the-box solutions when no progress was made in mainstream therapy,” he said.
“Normally, they wouldn’t have social interactions with store owners or tavern owners. I’ve seen their conversation improve.”
Fantasy takes her to the real world
For some children who find the real world overwhelming and challenging, it turns out that a little magic can go a long way.
In the game, participants take ownership of a character in a fantasy world, work as a team to overcome adversity and navigate the path to a successful outcome.
He said the game helped the children understand the social contract and gave them a chance to fail or try something new in a safe environment.
“Being a character in roles is extremely liberating,” said Mr. Bennett.
“One of our children made some pretty weak choices last week and his character died – he realized the sequence of events that killed his character.
“He promised not to do that again and said he would be more considered when he made elections in the future.”
Mr Bennett said he hoped the game would equip children with better coping mechanisms later in life.
Bribe-free therapy
George said he loves the freedom of play.
“You are the character you create, you are free to choose,” he said.
“It also helps me look at a new way to solve problems.”
He said he liked the friendship with the other players.
“There are a lot of people here that I get along with.”
Jenelle Blyth said therapy for children with autism could be difficult.
Being a mother of four with autism, her concentration prepared her for adulthood.
“Our goal is for all our children to be happy taxpayers. If we succeed in this for them, we have successfully raised our children,” she said.
She said it was her chance to play and tell a story that made Dice 4 Diversity something her son was looking forward to.
“This gives her a chance to connect with other children and learn to be more independent and talk to people,” she said.
“And I don’t have to bribe him to leave.”