How My Game Club Continues to Impact the Lives of Over 100 Kids and Adults With Autism

Before I get to the exciting and inspiring things about my game club and my members, let me give you a quick background on ASD; Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2013, the DSM-5 changed the way Autism, Aspergers (high functioning autism) and PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) were recognized and determined. In the past, all aspects and different levels of Autism were recognized as their own separate entities. It was quite beneficial to know the exact diagnosis of an individual as it leads to better gauging how to treat them and have a better understanding of their abilities and functioning at a first meeting. When the DSM-5 decided to change their guidelines and lump all forms and stages of autism into one title, Autism, it made it more difficult at first meeting to develop a course of treatment plan for the individual. Hopefully in the future the change will be reversed and each stage of autism will be recognized as separate entities again.

The autism spectrum most commonly encompasses a range of neurodevelopmental conditions. Individuals on the spectrum most often have difficulties with social interaction and communication. For instance, a lack of eye contact while speaking is common or an inability to relay feelings to others and have an appropriate flowing conversation. They often exhibit restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior similar to that of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) where they feel the need or compulsion to repeat a task or action such as stemming which is a rocking back and forth behavior accompanied by noises from over stimulation to the brain synapses. There is a high comorbidity rate or correlation with autism and OCD as well as Autism and Anxiety. The anxiety often manifests from their inner frustration and lack of ability to feel feelings and express them. Quite often they have a limited tolerance for foods, smells, clothing and showering.

As of 2020, 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with autism and boys are 4 times more likely to have autism. The prevalence is constantly increasing as more professionals learn early intervention and correctly diagnose a child at a younger age. Genetics play a large role in autism. It is quite common to see families have multiple children on the spectrum. It is said that twins have a higher chance of both having autism.

Children are typically diagnosed on the spectrum as young as 1-2 years old. However, many individuals aren’t fully diagnosed correctly until adolescence or even adulthood. Early intervention is quite helpful in aiding in the success of the individual. It allows them to attain services such at PT and OT for language and speech issues as well as intervention help with breaking patterns of behavior and better opening the doors for better communication and understanding of feelings. With early intervention, adolescents and adults higher on the spectrum often can learn to drive, hold a job and even live independently.

A myth that many people believe is that IQ and autism have a direct correlation; meaning the lower on the spectrum, the lower the IQand the higher on the spectrum, the higher the IQ; however that is far from the truth. IQ and autism in most cases have minimal correlation. In fact, many individuals on the spectrum have high IQ’s and attend college and some go on to carry high level job positions. Now, that doesn’t go to say that some individuals with autism don’t have a low iq. Their IQ’s are somewhat dependent on where they fall on the spectrum but again you must also take into consideration that someone lower on the spectrum may have a high iq but lack the skills and abilities to showcase their IQ and intelligence verbally. That just reiterates why early intervention is so critical in the individual’s future development and success. The key and intent is to maximize every resource possible to give them the best chance at living a successful life; and by successful life I mean a life that is best suited for each individual respectfully; where they are happy and achieving whatever goals they want in life whether with support or on their own.

Another quick myth about autism is that vaccines do not have any relation to whether an individual has autism or not. It’s a story people believed for many years that never had any diagnostic proof.

I have a degree in psychology and have been working in the field of autism for 20 years now. I have worked at many jobs with many individuals with different levels of functioning. Having a brother on the autism spectrum helped drive my interest in autism. He was diagnosed at the age of 3, however he was incorrectly diagnosed many times which often happened 25 years ago. It took multiple psychologists and evaluations to finally reach the diagnosis of autism. My brother has an extremely high IQ(over 120) however he struggles with expressing and understanding feelings, restricted and very limited food options, showering issues and depression. He graduated high school with honors and straight A’s yet never went to college or had a job. He is very high functioning but his trouble with socializing with the public, accompanied by his crippling anxiety, has kept him limited to his bedroom most days.

As the years passed by, my brother developed a passion for video games. It was the one subject he’d always talk about; for hours at a time mind you. When he was around 18, after he graduated high school, my parents were faced with the issue of what he should do with all his free time. He had no friends as a result of his anxiety and his loneliness and depression became more prominent. After thinking for a long period of time, my parents came up with the idea of creating a game club, a safe haven if you will, for children and adults on the spectrum. It’s main focus and intention was to have individuals attend our different groups and while playing games begin to naturally socialize with the eventual hope of making friends through common interests.

How My Game Club Continues to Impact the Lives of Over 100 Kids and Adults With Autism. There weren’t and still aren’t many places with our structure around and available for our individuals on the spectrum. We started small with one group as to see how if our idea would really work and flourish and become successful. Now, 9 years later, we have approximately 100 members of all different levels of the spectrum at our club. We have three separate rooms with every genre of games and every game system available as well as a retro room and a plethora of board games to promote group game play and socialization. We have 9 groups that gear towards age and functioning as well as some specific groups that are geared towards a specific topic such as Dungeons and Dragons. That is my favorite group hands down because the members are playing a game while not even realizing that they are learning essential social skills needed for further success in life.

It’s almost inexplicable to state in words what the success of the game club has done for me. I have been given the privilege to watch some of these members grow from young children to adults as well as watch them develop friendships that continued on the outside. One 27 year old member stated “ I have friends! This is the best day ever.” He was referring to the day he had his first official birthday party with other members of his group from the game club. He was bullied all through school like many individuals with autism unfortunately are and he had invited kids in 2nd grade to his birthday and no one showed up. It tore him inside and he never opened up again until he joined our club. I’ve watched many of them graduate high school and either attain jobs or go to and graduate college as well as proudly watch some of them drive and get their own apartments.

A cool thing to mention is the relationships and respect I have gained from my older members in their 20’s and 30’s. Over the years I’ve become not just their director but a mentor and “friend” to them. They invite me to Halloween parties, bowling outings, barbecues and treat me as part of their lives. I attend every event with pride and happiness and not to mention their parents like the idea that a “chaperone” is there with them so to speak. It’s an honor to be a part of their outside lives as well.

The pandemic forced the game club to sadly close last March; however due to high demand I started creating and running groups virtually via zoom. While it may not be the same as in person social interaction; I’ve found that being virtual the past year hasn’t affected growth and progression of any sort. Of course in person interaction and socialization is primal but continuation of growth and not interrupting the friendships they’ve created is most important. So the virtual gaming has provided a constant flow of social interaction for our individuals in the interim.

Our ultimate goal is to help as many individuals as we can improve their socialization skills and make friendships that will lead to increased confidence and a want in them to succeed further in life. The most important thing to remember is the saying “Autism is not a disability, it’s a different ability.”