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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ibrandul" data-source="post: 9104037" data-attributes="member: 6871736">I have several years of recent experience regularly DMing 5e for one autistic tween and one highly ADHD tween in a group filled out with their parents as the other players. I have also DM'd 5e for several other autistic and ADHD tweens in the past.Other posters' advice given above is excellent. Let me expand on just a few things:- I can't emphasize enough that not all neurodivergent players are the same, not even the ones who share the "same" neurodivergence labels. Some autistic players are hyper-good at math, others not; some autistic players are virtually incapable of interpreting social cues, others have honed this skill very well. Some ADHD players will thrive if given "movement breaks" every fifteen minutes where they run outside and do a couple of laps around the building; others will get so hyperfocused imagining the game fiction that it's hard to transition back into the real world.- It may be difficult for some of your players to accept things that they see as violations of RAW or DMing inconsistencies such as one-time exceptional rulings. It's hard for some young players to accept that the DM may not always make rulings they think are good ones, or may run the game differently than they would prefer. And they may be very unforgiving of your imperfections—and may have a hard time understanding why it's even a good thing to be forgiving. Be as patient as you can with this if you encounter it.- Most DMs at times neglect to differentiate between players' thought patterns and their characters'. This is often discussed re: INT checks, because players themselves are often better at the skills represented by INT than their characters are supposed to be, which poses difficulties or at least questions related to DMing and design. This differentiation may be more important to bear in mind with neurodivergent players. For example, on a successful Insight check a DM might say "She cracks her left thumb every time she mentions the treasure" and assume that the players' own "insight" is robust enough to grasp the implication. With most players, that information means she's hiding something; with an autistic player, it may just mean she cracks her left thumb every time she mentions the treasure—no more, no less. If I want them to know she's hiding something, I tell them exactly that. Perhaps that's just best practice with all players, but it may be more necessary with neurodivergent players.- On a related note, it may be difficult or even impossible for some neurodivergent players to compartmentalize information that they (as players) possess but their characters lack. An autistic player whose CN fighter has never encountered a Rakshasa—but who has memorized the Rakshasa stat block—is probably going to direct the NG longbow ranger and rapier-wielding CG bard to focus their attacks on that enemy. And asking "Wait, how does your character know that's such a good idea?"—while a valid question for many groups' playstyles—might not make much sense to them, or might feel like you're ruining their moment to shine.- Avoiding serious moral quandaries is great advice. You might find that your players also struggle with the notion that what their characters do has any negative effect on the world around them. One player of a rogue PC chose to steal from a rude, rich patron of an upscale inn—but then became distraught when the inn's house detective was fired for failing to solve the crime.- RPGs can provide players—perhaps especially neurodivergent ones—with invaluable opportunities to develop skills that may not come easily to them, especially social skills. You can't push it, but you can be aware of it. To take points I already mentioned: I try to bite my tongue when players are unforgiving of my imperfections as a DM, but I sometimes intervene when they're unforgiving of each others' imperfect tactical decisions. With the Insight check, "She's hiding something" is better than just "She keeps cracking her left thumb when discussing the treasure"—but best of all is to say both things, which may help players develop the skill of deducing others' mental states from observable cues. And so on.- Last but not least, neurodivergences are awesome. One of my ADHD players is the most creative in-game problem-solver I've ever had. One of my autistic players has memorized every spell and official stat block in the game and all the other players' character sheets. These are incredible skills that can make for memorable games, especially if the DM leans into their players' strengths.</blockquote>

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