While many children are using game controllers to battle each other, there’s another way to go on a quest — Dungeons and Dragons.
Chris Beason of Twinsburg took this fantasy table game to help his son Shayne Beason, 23, who was diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, become more comfortable talking to others.
Chris Beason was looking for something different to do with his sons, Shayne, Cameron, 18, and Cole, 13, other than video games. He stumbled across a podcast about Dungeons and Dragons in which players use characters to go on adventures by using small figures, pen and paper, and rolling the dice.
“Most other games, you are playing against each other,” Beason says. “This game you are playing with each other. It (also) forces the players to communicate.”
Thinking other teens with developmental disabilities in the community would benefit, he set up a monthly game at the Twinsburg Public Library in January. Currently, six players, ages 13-23, most with developmental disabilities, across Northeast Ohio, have joined in on the fun. “I developed it with these kids in mind, but it’s open to anyone,” Beason says.
For his son, he does think the interactive game is helping Shayne become more vocal in groups. In fact, he says he hopes his son will soon take the role of Dungeon Master, the one who leads the group’s adventure.
If anyone is interested in learning more about the game, email Chris Beason at [email protected].
