It has been a VERY busy 10 months. we have spoken at many conventions/conferences, sat on panels, provided presentations, been in live Q&A chat session, and had many interviews. All about the effects of role-playing games, and their use to achieve therapeutic and educational goals for many different populations. Here is a listing of all these in one location for your convenience...
Due to excessively strict NDA of the organization, I am very limited in what I can post, but letting those following the RPG Research, beginning working with autism-spectrum toddlers today from a recreation therapy approach, and developing an activity program that is LARP (Live-Action Role-Playing) quest-style for this population group, that we will actually implement in the next few weeks.
An article on Killscreen.com, "DUNGEONS OF THE MIND: TABLETOP RPGS AS SOCIAL THERAPY" by Chris Berg was just published. It includes a range of RPG researchers and therapists from a variety of disciplines including: drama therapy, family therapy, sociology, recreation therapy / therapeutic recreation, and more!
This is my first prototype rough draft in the development of role-playing gaming as a modality for therapeutic / educational interventions. For a Recreation Therapy course in which I am currently enrolled at Eastern Washington University, our task last week was to "Develop a Tabletop Leisure Education Game" for a group of Autism Spectrum (and other) adults in a facility near the Seattle area (we are in Spokane, WA). Of course I selected (with the approval of my assigned partner in the project, Tabletop Role-Playing Gaming (RPG ) for this assignment, in this case a 1940s Gumshoe Detective-style mystery set in urban Chicago...
" D&D has always appealed to introverts with rich inner lives. For my boy, it was a lifeline to the outside world. Delani Bartlette, The Good Men Project" Article from Salon.com archived here in case it disappears...
Japanese researcher, Kohei Kato, has shown promising measurable results using role-playing games to improve the quality of life for people on the Autism Spectrum...
This program is usable for any populations, and professionals in other disciplines, wishing to teach participants to gain competence and confidence in using their local public transit system. This posting is an older prototype posting, there are now more updated versions of this program.
Here are notes from the January 22nd, 2018 interview broadcast at Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons, "Dragon Talk" with Greg Tito and Shelly Mazzanoble, interviewing John Welker & Hawke Robinson of RPG Research, Spokane Area Gaming Alliance, & RPG Therapeutics LLC, about role-playing game education, therapy, and more. Currently a work in progress. I am working on it each day in small snippets of time while juggling everything else. I will let folks know when it is ready for sharing.
