This year, for the first time, George Blyth will have children to invite to his birthday party.
The elementary school student has autism and has made a special group of friends who play a modified version of Dungeons and Dragons.
The game is run by a role-playing company from Canberra for social inclusion called Dice 4 Diversity, which helps children with different needs to improve their conversation and social skills.
“He’s looking forward to it, it’s the highlight of his week,” his mother Jenelle said.
‘There’s a group he can fit in with.
‘Their social skills have improved’
George plays a custom Dungeons and Dragons game every Saturday with Ian Bennett, the father of Canberra.
Mr. Bennett, a self-proclaimed “Dungeon and Dragons” player, started the company after struggling to access therapeutic services for his three children, each with different needs.
“We fought the health system for appropriate treatment and we sought out-of-the-box solutions when no progress was made with the main therapy,” he said.
“Normally, they would not have social interactions with shopkeepers or tavern owners. I have seen their conversation improve.”
Fantasy a gateway to the real world
For some children who find the real world overwhelming and challenging, it seems that a little magic can stretch a lot.
In the game, participants take ownership of a character in a fantasy world, work in a team to overcome adversity and find their way to a successful outcome.
He said the game helped children understand the social contract and gave them the chance to fail at something new in a safe environment.
“Being a role-playing character is tremendously liberating,” Mr Bennett said.
‘One of our kids the other week made some poor choices and his character is dead – he realizes the sequence of events that killed his character.
“He promised not to do it again and said he would be more considerate if he made choices in the future.”
Mr Bennett said he was hopeful the children would equip the children to work better later in life.
Therapy that does not require bribery
George said he likes the freedom of the game.
“You are the character you create, you can choose,” he said.
“It also helps me look at a new way to solve problems.”
He said he enjoyed his friendships with the other players.
“Here are a lot of people I get along with.”
Jenelle Blyth said therapy for children with autism can be difficult.
As a mother of four children with autism, her focus was on getting them ready for adulthood.
“Our goal is for all our children to be happy taxpayers. If we can get it right for them, we have raised our children successfully,” she said.
She said it was the chance to play a story and tell what made Dice 4 Diversity something her son was looking forward to.
“It gives him the chance to connect with other children and learn to be more independent and talk to people,” she said.
“And I do not need him to buy to go.”