EotE for kids with learning disabilities and Autism

By thejisdangerous, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

Hi all,

I just wanted to share a story.

I work at a school for kids with learning disabilities and autism, and we try to get them to interact with each other as much as they can. Social skills are learned in class and practiced out in the real world, so having clubs at school where they can meet with kids with mutual interests is a great place to try out these social skills.

Recently, a student asked me if i played dungeons and dragons or any type of rpg. i explained how much i had enjoyed EotE and told him to check it out if he was interested. well, this kid took it a whole step further and created "RPG Group" with me as a sponsor/GM. i happily agreed and last week we had our first two sessions (wed/fri during lunch). after a crash course in the dice mechanic, we jumped right in. the group is 7 strong (5 students and 2 other teachers) and they are having the time of their lives. some of these kids are extremely introverted and to see them come to life as a bounty hunter with a chip on their shoulder, or a droid that thinks it's a human, is quite magical.

this game has really opened up a whole new side to these kids, that they didnt even know they had. it really is a wonderful product and i'm having a great time GM'ing for them, as they surprise me CONSTANTLY.

anyway, Thanks for reading!

if you'd like to know about our campaign, i'd more than gladly pm some details.

This is totally awesome.

Would love to hear about the campaign!

That's really cool!

That's great to hear! I have a nephew with Asphergers (sp?), and I'd never thought that a tabletop rpg might be a great outlet for him.

Forget about pm's, though - I'm sure people would love to read about the campaign right here! :)

ok, well the basic story is they get hired by an anonymous party (who will later be revealed as reom from beyond the rim) to investigate 2 people. a moisture farmer kid, and a hermit, both who are known to have played a part in the destruction of an imperial superweapon. the story opens in chalmun's cantina from ep. 4, and after verifying the identity of the two perps in question, they proceed to try and aquire transport to the hermit's home. after asking around, they find someone selling a skiff for WAY more money than they have. he happens to need a favor which includes taking back a locker containing spice from a dug with an assassin droid bodyguard. after this leg of the adventure they wind up in obi wan's hut and find lightsaber making materials. they'll encounter a bounty hunter known only as "the courier" after they exit the hut. so far, they haven't left the cantina but they have found out the identity of obi wan. pretty fun so far. ive included the familiar elements of star wars so their interest is held, but i'll slowly start introducing unknown elements.

I'd love to hear more details as the campaign continues. Kudos to you for thinking outside of the box and creatively finding new ways for these kids to grow.

This is awesome. Please keep us updated.

I like your story premise a lot.

This is a very uplifting story. I was bracing myself for something disheartening, like "my nephews love Star Wars but they just cant wrap their head around the rules it makes me super sad..." But this was a nice surprise.

Maybe I've read too many reports of "my college friends love RPGs but they just can't figure out the dice I wish there was a way to help them..."

Fantastic! After a few sessions/ half a year I suggest writing an article about it and publishing it in a teacher's magazine. This would a) promote your idea and help more kids b)promote RPG as a hobby!

Personally knowing someone with autism I am very happy to hear of your group's success.

Just wonderful. :)

This is awesome!

Wow, that's terrific stuff!

I'm the father of an autistic child myself. While he is very social (all things considered) he's never shown a lot of interest in the things that I enjoy (like RPG's). I'm glad your group is enjoying the game so much.

We had our 3rd session today. They managed to strongarm an ithorian for information, and negotiate a free skiff pending delivery of black market goods stolen by a Dug and his droid bodyguard.

Edited by thejisdangerous

This made my day, thanks for sharing. :)

This made my day, thanks for sharing. :)

x2 :)

Great story, and keep us posted...

Edited by Chickader

Fantastic Job!

Despite what some people say, this community is a great place! People like you make it so! Please continue!

Kudos to you for innovative teaching. Not only are they learning social skills but they're also getting authentic practice in elements of fiction, functional mathematics and probability as well as negotiation and communication skills in a teamwork environment: all 21st Century and Common Core skills.

Kudos to you for innovative teaching. Not only are they learning social skills but they're also getting authentic practice in elements of fiction, functional mathematics and probability as well as negotiation and communication skills in a teamwork environment: all 21st Century and Common Core skills.

yes! common core and 21st century skills are very much being pushed at our school.

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, everyone. I'll update every once in a while and let you guys know how things are going, funny anecdotes and situations, etc.

Hi all,

I just wanted to share a story.

I work at a school for kids with learning disabilities and autism, and we try to get them to interact with each other as much as they can. Social skills are learned in class and practiced out in the real world, so having clubs at school where they can meet with kids with mutual interests is a great place to try out these social skills.

Recently, a student asked me if i played dungeons and dragons or any type of rpg. i explained how much i had enjoyed EotE and told him to check it out if he was interested. well, this kid took it a whole step further and created "RPG Group" with me as a sponsor/GM. i happily agreed and last week we had our first two sessions (wed/fri during lunch). after a crash course in the dice mechanic, we jumped right in. the group is 7 strong (5 students and 2 other teachers) and they are having the time of their lives. some of these kids are extremely introverted and to see them come to life as a bounty hunter with a chip on their shoulder, or a droid that thinks it's a human, is quite magical.

this game has really opened up a whole new side to these kids, that they didnt even know they had. it really is a wonderful product and i'm having a great time GM'ing for them, as they surprise me CONSTANTLY.

anyway, Thanks for reading!

if you'd like to know about our campaign, i'd more than gladly pm some details.

This is great stuff! Furthers my belief that Tabletop RPG's should be an extra curricular activity at all levels of schooling. bravo!

Just a quick update in case anyone is interested.

  • the players managed to find a Dug with an assassin droid bodyguard who had some merchandise relevant to the story in a cantina.
  • After failed negotiation attempts to recover said merchandise, one player secretly sliced the assassin droid's offensive capabilities.
  • another player took a shot and missed, causing the droid to jump out of the way and land prone on the ground.
  • another player jumped out of a booth and took a shot at the downed droid, (rolled a triumph) incapacitating one of it's legs.
  • after that, our wookie jumped on top of the droid and attempted to remove it's blaster arms by sheer force, failed but managed to break some blaster gas tubing by lifting the droid up by it's arms.
  • the droid managed to get its weapons back online, but was still being held by the wookie. it managed to get a shot off, but hit some lights instead, trapping his owner inside the booth.
  • finally, the face of the group walked over, calmly sipped his beverage and managed an easy re-negotiation with the dug.

pretty exciting stuff.

Waoa sounds like they are having the time of their life. Please keep us posted =D

Thank you so much. This topic really lifted me up after a hard day. I hope you and your players can enjoy rp-ing for the longest possible time.

Great party, great initiative.

May I suggest some points about your gming that seems a bit too hardboiled compared to the storytelling power of EOTE system.

1) That triumph may take off any ordinary foe by raw :

- The droid could have fall prone on the nearest table, and being kept by customer remembering it that droid are prohibited in the cantina since clone wars, and then kick the droid out. End of encounter (with a kid friendly no killing success).

- the shot droid should have knocked down his mate in a big uncontrolled move.

- the pc might have disarmed it or shut it off.

- etc :)

2) Then the wookie smash fail but gets advantage and the droid manage to counter that near success. I don't think that is the spirit of the game. Player build some Nice story element you shouldn't erase that way, but instead play with. A fail with advantage might also be told as a short success that cost a lot to the player character :

- Maybe the tibana gas (cloud city first brand) is so inflammable that the wookie fur start to burn (minor wounds) and he must throw the nearest drink on it (neighbour table ?)...

- Or the wookie is just blinded until the end of the encounter by sparkles made by the damaged weapon ?

- maybe the wookie fail to affect the weapon but takes the droid weapon arm so high that the cantina boss manage to see it and order the droid to get out or he calls empire enforcers,

- etc.

Good gaming ! Bravo !

Just awesome. Thanks for this beautiful initiative :D

Awesome - that's really a great story. Kids in the autism spectrum can benefit a lot from role playing games. I've had some experience myself profesionally, using RPG as a tool when working with Asperger's.

Good luck to the group of fringers from me :-)