It's no coincidence that board games are popular among people with autism. And yet, we are only just learning about how they could help in the design of future wellbeing initiatives and social enrichment activities for those with autistic traits.
Autism spectrum disorders are a diverse group of conditions characterized by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication, affecting roughly one in 100 children worldwide, according to data from the World Health Organization.
Anecdotally, it has been observed that board gaming is a popular hobby among people with autism. However, new research from the University of Plymouth in the U.K. has, for the first time, explored the association scientifically, and uncovered important reasons for this link.
"We know that board games are a safe and valuable hobby to many people with autism," Gray Atherton, one of the study's co-authors and lecturer in psychology at the University of Plymouth, said in a statement. "What this research established was why that's the case, and we really want to use the findings to conduct future work."
In the first part of their research, the team surveyed 1,600 board gamers from around the world and found that around 7 percent of them were diagnosed as autistic, compared to just 1 percent in the general population. In addition, 30 percent of those surveyed had high levels of autistic traits.
The researchers went on to interview 13 survey participants who had been diagnosed with autism in depth about their experiences with board games and how they felt the hobby interacted with their symptoms.
Next, the researchers drew together 28 individuals with autism who had not tried the hobby before. After an afternoon playing board games, the group were asked about their experience.
Lastly, the team analyzed the effects of a two-year intervention involving weekly board gaming sessions in adults and adolescents with autism.
Across all studies, participants reported feelings of community, independence and new skills, as well as an alternative method for forging social relationships.
"The findings as a whole aren't a shock, but what is surprising is the lack of evidence underpinning board game use as an intervention for people with autism," Atherton said. "Hearing the feedback from the study participants was really motivating to try and push this forward in different settings."
The researchers hope that their findings will be used to inform the design of future wellbeing interventions for people with autism, while also potentially exploring ways to adapt existing board games to be even more accessible and enjoyable to this community.
The results can be found in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and the American Journal of Play.
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