Suggestions Needed: DMing for the Neurodiverse (specifically ADHD)

[NecessaryWeevil]

Hi Playground,

A colleague has asked me to introduce her teenage sons and some of their friends to D&D. It sounds like they've tried it but could use a more experienced DM.

Complications: I only have time for a few sessions, not an ongoing commitment. I have limited experience DMing (probably about 25 sessions all told). And the boys are ADHD. My colleague and her wife will be present to help them / me.

I'm thinking of using Sunless Citadel from Yawning Portal; I'm mostly looking for tips on DMing for new and especially ADHD players, with the goal of leaving them better players than when I started (although obviously the primary goal is their enjoyment).

Thanks!

[Greywander]

I have ADHD, but I'm not sure how much help I can be here. It's hard to know what's actually different between me and normal people, since I'm so used to ADHD that it seems normal to me. I'm also not sure how much of my personality is a result of ADHD and how much is unrelated to it.

Make sure they have room to move around, and don't insist they stay seated all the time. I know I like to pace when I'm thinking.

Caffeine can help with focus. My theory is that the reason people with ADHD have trouble focusing is because parts of their brain run faster than other parts, and caffeine speeds up those slower parts until they can keep up.

I've noticed that I sometimes go through several logical leaps very quickly. I'll see something, and it will make me think of one thing, which makes me think of another thing, which in turn leads me to something else. So I might react to something in a way that doesn't seem related, when it's just several steps removed. Be prepared for this, and you might need to ask them to explain what they're trying to do if you get confused.

Be prepared for them to get distracted. And the thing is, although it's easy to lose focus, I've noticed I can also get hyperfocused on something, almost to a point of obsession. You might need to be prepared to take the campaign in a direction you didn't expect, because they blindsided you by going off the rails, and won't give up when you try to steer them back.

Not sure if this is related to ADHD or just my personality, but I'm generally not a fan of surprises. I would not be happy to find out about a rule in the middle of play, for example (even if it wasn't one that affected me). Make well sure to set their expectations properly before starting the game, and be prepared to say, "Well, it's supposed to be like this, but we can do it this way for tonight. Next session, though, it will be the other way." If you need to change something, let them know ahead of time. And yeah, this means if you decide the implement a houserule, the proper time to notify them is well before the start of the next session, at least a day.

ADHD has some similarities to autism (and is arguably a type of autism), so some of the things that would help with autistic people might be useful here, as well.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope this helps, and good luck!

[ImproperJustice]

I have ADHD, but I'm not sure how much help I can be here. It's hard to know what's actually different between me and normal people, since I'm so used to ADHD that it seems normal to me. I'm also not sure how much of my personality is a result of ADHD and how much is unrelated to it.

Make sure they have room to move around, and don't insist they stay seated all the time. I know I like to pace when I'm thinking.

Caffeine can help with focus. My theory is that the reason people with ADHD have trouble focusing is because parts of their brain run faster than other parts, and caffeine speeds up those slower parts until they can keep up.

I've noticed that I sometimes go through several logical leaps very quickly. I'll see something, and it will make me think of one thing, which makes me think of another thing, which in turn leads me to something else. So I might react to something in a way that doesn't seem related, when it's just several steps removed. Be prepared for this, and you might need to ask them to explain what they're trying to do if you get confused.

Be prepared for them to get distracted. And the thing is, although it's easy to lose focus, I've noticed I can also get hyperfocused on something, almost to a point of obsession. You might need to be prepared to take the campaign in a direction you didn't expect, because they blindsided you by going off the rails, and won't give up when you try to steer them back.

Not sure if this is related to ADHD or just my personality, but I'm generally not a fan of surprises. I would not be happy to find out about a rule in the middle of play, for example (even if it wasn't one that affected me). Make well sure to set their expectations properly before starting the game, and be prepared to say, "Well, it's supposed to be like this, but we can do it this way for tonight. Next session, though, it will be the other way." If you need to change something, let them know ahead of time. And yeah, this means if you decide the implement a houserule, the proper time to notify them is well before the start of the next session, at least a day.

ADHD has some similarities to autism (and is arguably a type of autism), so some of the things that would help with autistic people might be useful here, as well.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Previous poster is correct that those with a clinical diagnosis for ADHD do focus easier with the help of stimulents.

Generally speaking in broad terms, limit exposition, focus on providing action with short, but excitingly detailed descriptions and expect your players to get up, move around and be more excited about events than some other players.
Focus on consistency and repetition with rules and actions. The more concrete the world feels the easier they will be able to focus.

In super simplistic terms, people with ADHD have brainwave activity that actually idles at a lower level, but spikes significantly when exposed to stimuli. Often characterized by more excited responses, maybe laughing longer than a joke may seem funny, etc...
Thus they are often prescribed stimulants to raise their baseline activity to even out their response to stimuli.
As people with this diagnosis age, their activity levels raise naturally along with their own coping skills, and the overall impact on their daily lives can be pretty minimal.

As with any mental diagnosis, symptoms and coping strategies can vary wildly from person to person. Patience and an open mind are key to a good time here.

Wish you luck and hope you have a great game!

[Yora]

I have ADHD, but I'm not sure how much help I can be here.
Yeah, this is a tough question. I think it is highly individual. In my understanding and experience, it's not a difficulty to focus on things, but a difficulty to focus on what someone else wants you to focus. You can be very attentive, but to the things that your brain decidedes is the most interesting now. Doing A, while you really want to think about B, is the real problem.

Thougj there is one thing I really do recommend: Don't use individual initiative and go with group initiative instead. I think this really goes for all players, but I think it really helps a lot when dealing with atention deficits:
The normal procedure of every character and enemy acting one after the other until everyone has made their turn means that there is nothing for players to do when it is not their turn. You are supposed to make your turn, and then sit quietly and watch as two to five other players and maybe 6 to 10 enemies all make their turn. All players are terrible at that! And with an attention deficit it will be so much worse. Your brain is excited because there's action and you want to do something, but you're supposed to sit quiet and watch. Your brain needs something to do now! So it goes and finds itself something to occupy itself with. Which only gets worse by the fact that other players get bored waiting for their turn too, so they also don't pay attention, and when it comes to their turn they first have to study the situation for a while because they have no clue what happened since their last turn. Now everyone else is supposed to be quiet and pay attention while a player spends a few minutes trying to figure out what the current situation is. Which they won't because it's terribly boring.
Individual initative is bad. Which is why originally it was an optional rule intended for very small fights with three or four combatants. Trying it with 10 or 20 combatants is terrible.
Group initiative solves almost all those issues. You have one turn for all the players and one turn for the group of enemies. (And possibly another turn for a second different group of enemies also in this fight.) First thing, nobody is ever confused whose turn it is. Second thing, when you still need time to decide what you want to do, any of the other players who have already decided can take their turns while you're still thinking, so you don't have boring pauses where nobody does anything. Also, you have an incentive to pay attention to what is happening during the enemy turn because the next player to take a turn could be you. What the enemies are doing now matters to you now. Your turn is coming up right after this, not in 5 minutes.
I think this form of initiative is superior in all ways, but people with attention deficits will benefit the most from it.

I would also recommend not bothering with backstories. Either for PCs or for the adventures. I want to do things, not writing things or listening to stories. A villain wanting to kill the king to take power is good enough. I don't need the stories of their youth and the tragedy that made them enemies.

Perhaps obviously, I also wouldn't start the campaign with investigation. When you know the players and think they might be interested, you can try that at a later point. Don't make things too complicated. Not because the players won't be smart enough to solve the puzzles and mysteries, but to maintain the flow of the game. Some players might find the puzzle really fun and entertaining, but there is a very high risk that they will spend ages with it and not notice or care that some other players get bored and completely tune out. Again, when you know the group well, you can try such things later.

And super importantly: Use a game system that plays fast. Don't use something that requires players to handle four spreadsheets to write down their characters and to handle four or five situational modifiers at the same time.
5th edition is a great choice.


Not sure if this is related to ADHD or just my personality, but I'm generally not a fan of surprises. I would not be happy to find out about a rule in the middle of play, for example (even if it wasn't one that affected me). Make well sure to set their expectations properly before starting the game.
I hate surprises! That doesn't mean I want to know everything that is going to happen in advance. But I really prefer to be able to mentally prepare myself for what I am getting into. For a campaign, this means I want to know what kind of campaign it is going to be, what genre, and what style the world is like. "Haha, you thought you were going to do this, but it turns out that you really will be doing this!" is... well, it would really make me unhappy. And might even make my brain to stop caring.
As a player, I really want to know what kind of movie I am in before I start making a character. Don't tease me with expectations and then suprise me giving me something different from what was promised. My brain was hooked on something and worked up for it. Making me to switch to something else that isn't what my brain wants now isn't going to work well.