How a Dungeons and Dragons club became a ‘lifesaver’ for a group of neurodivergent Ontario youth – Yahoo News Canada
How a Dungeons and Dragons club became a ‘lifesaver’ for a group of neurodivergent Ontario youth CBC Mon, April 20, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. UTC 4 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
Jonathon Smith, researcher and Master of Psychology student at Trent University, says youth described increased belonging, autonomy, and meaningful peer engagement through the first part of his Dungeons and Dragons study. (Michael Cole/CBC News – image credit) Making friendships has been difficult for Elliot Schroeder for as long as he can remember.
The 17-year-old from Durham Region, east of Toronto, was often the victim of bullying growing up and spent years struggling to find support.
But that changed when his mother signed him up for the Oshawa Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) club three years ago, giving him an outlet to express himself in ways he wasn’t able to before, he says.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon, Schroeder said he began making friends in the group and feeling more comfortable with who he was.
“It kind of challenged my view that I’m just a weird, little kid,” Schroeder told CBC News.
Schroeder’s experience is similar to the dozens of neurodivergent youth who’ve reported feeling happier and having improved relationships since joining the Oshawa D&D club. Neurodivergent is an umbrella term that describes those living with disorders, such as autism, dyslexia, or ADHD.
The group was founded by Jonathon Smith, a master of psychology student at Trent University, three years ago, to give neurodivergent teens more opportunities to work on their social skills.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement “Typically, right now, what’s available for them is social skills training,” Smith said. “Whereas, we’re just saying, maybe they need a space where they can come in and be themselves.”
Youth described increased belonging: group founder
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop roleplaying game that tasks players with creating characters and embarking on fantasy adventures together, acting out stories through narration and imagination.
Smith, a former aerospace engineer in the Canadian military who is also neurodivergent, said he thought the game was a perfect outlet for neurodivergent youth, who often struggle to make friends and frequently experience anxiety and depression .
Jonathon Smith, researcher and master of psychology student at Trent University, says youth described increased belonging, autonomy and meaningful peer engagement through the first part of his Dungeons and Dragons study. (Michael Cole/CBC News) Smith said the game forces players to collaborate and co-ordinate together, creating a more social environment.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It’s also a safe space for them to argue, he added, with the game’s relative low risks making it more conducive for navigating out of different challenges.
He approached Trent University to back the program and was encouraged to launch a qualitative study by his research supervisor.
A qualitative study relies on non-numerical data like interviews and observations to learn about people’s experiences.
In interviews with participants aged 14–18, Smith said youth described increased belonging, autonomy and meaningful peer engagement.
His work has garnered support from the City of Oshawa , which has offered him a grant to help expand the program.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith currently acts as the club’s dungeon master — effectively the game’s narrator and referee — and has begun training others in order to facilitate more groups.
Smith said he’s also opened an adult group, ensuring that participants don’t “age out.”
‘They can’t get out of the house fast enough’
Gina Narvaez is thankful that her two sons, Mateo and Gabriel, will be able to continue playing in the group as they grow older.
Narvaez said she first learned about the program through Autism Ontario two years ago.
She said her eldest, 18-year-old Gabriel, was on board immediately, but her younger son was more hesitant.
Gina Narvaez, a mother of two boys who are neurodivergent, said there were few options for her sons to increase their social interactions, especially as they grew older. (Michael Cole/CBC News) With some persistence, she was able to convince Mateo to also attend, which she’s thankful for.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement “Now, they can’t get out of the house fast enough,” Narvaez said.
Narvaez said she was proud to watch how they’ve flourished since joining the program, adding she’s happy her sons finally have a place where they can be comfortable being themselves. Prior to the club, she said it was difficult to find programming for her sons.
“This program is a bit of a lifesaver,” she added.
Meanwhile, a new part of the study is ongoing and aims to measure the social improvements of the youth with more numerical data.
Smith said it will continue into the fall.
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