During my grad studies in psychology, I came across a study on ADHD whereby participants were put under an fMRI whilst given different tasks. What they found had a huge impact on me, since I always described myself the same way. Basically, when people with certain types of ADHD (inattentive) are presented redundant tasks/information, their brains shut down in a way that emulates sleep - the harder they try to force themselves to focus on a non-novel task, the more their brains looked like they were sleeping. This explained a lot of the 'reading a textbook to only find myself a couple chapters in, asleep, in a puddle of drool, with no knowledge of said chapters'! I suspect that you're good at avoiding tedious scenarios and you keep things short and novel.....it's like crack to the ADHD brain.
Not ADHD but I am on the autism spectrum. One of my specific symptoms is that I have a difficult time tuning out background noise, which makes it harder to focus on the thing in front of me. My first campaign was in a noisy game store, so I just simply asked to sit closer to the DM so I can hear them more clearly. This made things go far smoother, and I spent a lot less time having to lean in and ask the DM to repeat themselves DMs: listen to your disabled players
Yes, a "DM tips for the ADHDMs among us" video would be awesome! I struggle playing a single character or tracking the story as a player but find DMing much easier in many ways. Tons of stuff to keep my mind stimulated plus having firm deadlines of game nights where my players are depending on me to be ready helps me stay on top of things.
My problem when i DM is that i start the game with clear goals and by about session 8-10 i am completely off the rails. Not due to my players but due to my inability to stop inputting random ideas into the game moment to moment.
I always expected to be awful at DMing, the whole concept seems like a conglomeration of all the things my ADD gets in the way of.. Focus, memory, organisation, deadlines, etc.. But eventually I ended up giving it a go in order to try and get some friends interested in playing and found it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it'd be.. experience from a few more campaigns since then and I've found myself gravitating towards character driven campaigns with plots woven into their backstories runnung in the backgraound and (with a few resources open to help) mostly improv the rest based on what the party decide to do and what the NPCs reactions would logically be.. And somehow things like focus and memory aren't as much of an issue because it's more like you're playing every other character in the world rather than just being an NPC and it also makes engaging with the storyline in a way that it sticks in the memory much easier.. Can't really say that oorganisation and deadlines got any easier, but that's where the more improvised style I've gravitated towards comes in
Been playing since 78. My doc says I have “A D big H D”. Solution? Be the DM. As a player I struggle. Fidgeting? Constantly tapping foot? Guilty as charged. Being a DM is actually easier than being a player.
I really struggled to pay attention during one-on-one conversations between NPCS and other players. Then I accidentally became my game's stenographer. It helps me stay engaged, and as a bonus, we have a really good record of everything that's ever said!!
That’s AMAZING. I also pay attention by being the primary note taker, but just general things and important names or details. Full on recording conversations is just so epic
I appreciate you working in props throughout (lighting the lamp, unlocking the chest, writing the notes) so that it's not just a monologue. You definitely understand the audience for this video!
I didn't realize that I did it, but I felt so at home in watching the little things that were going on in the video. I love how this video is helping on several levels.
Maybe I'll have to go back and watch it again. Because I "watched" it while playing a mindless game on my phone, which is how I engage with most TH-cam D&D content (and why I prefer D&D podcasts to actual play video streams).
Not ADHD, but I have severe narcolepsy and I struggle so much with staying awake and alert during sessions. I have found that knitting or crocheting have really helped me!
Loved this video! Definitely going to use some of these tips. Would love it if you did a video on ADHD tips for GMs - I really struggle with session prep
Yes! Half the time it feels like a slog to type up my notes/recaps after a session and start working on the prep notes for the next one, especially if there's not something super exciting planned like a big boss battle or travel to a new location that I'm excited to introduce
That's why I love Candela, it's a game that moves faster and always has active moments. I found as a GM, it was easier running my first ever session, than when I've run DND sessions (which I have years of experience). Amazing how it has now improved my DND gameplay, which is quicker, efficient, and only has rolls when things matter (a staple of Candela)@@magicianmana4
you have -SUCH- a calm and reasonable way of telling us at the beginning "THIS VIDEO ISNT ME SAYING EVERYONES EXPERIENCE WILL BE LIKE THIS, PLEASE DONT @ ME" I felt it. lol.
I’m a 31-year old grad student, husband, father, D&D player and DM. I only learned about 2 months ago that I have ADHD (also inattentive subtype). As I’ve been learning more about ADHD, it’s really been like I’ve found my tribe. I’ve lived my whole life thinking I’m incredibly lazy and forgetful… it brings up terrible imposter syndrome and depression. Ginny, I seriously appreciate the efforts you put into making this such an informative, engaging, and awareness-raising video. You’ve treated a highly misunderstood topic with such sensitivity, respect, and grace… and you still made it engaging for non-ADHD people, too. Thank you!
As someone who has lived with it (and other things) my whole life (diagnosed when I was so young I literally dont remember a time I WASNT), I just wanted to say I'm happy that you finally have the closure/answers to help explain well...YOURSELF to you. It can feel so validating and help you deal with things mentally once you just...know. I've seen it with many friends and I just wanted to extend the olive branch to say you arent lazy or forgetful. Your mind works differently and that's okay. Keep doing what you're doing and I know you'll go far
Hey, welcome to the tribe! I was diagnosed at 35 (5.5 years ago) with combined subtype. The more you work on understanding yourself, the more you see the things you do as a result of brain chemistry rather than an inherent character flaw, the more you will learn to forgive yourself and seek solutions to the common problems you face instead of banging your head against a wall. It's a long road of unlearning the old, unhelpful ways of doing things and replacing them with new learnings, but it's a gradual and rewarding process. Best of luck to you!
Same here! I haven't been diagnosed yet, hoping to get some counseling this year (but sadly this requires phone calls), but I have learned so much in the last year or so as I've opened myself up to the possibility. I too have always felt lazy and forgetful, despite knowing that I *do* try and often have an awesome memory for things (like game rules, lucky me). Now if only I could focus enough to really get all the details from this video... thankfully, rewatching stuff is comforting to me, and repetition breeds success!
An elaborate session spreadsheet as a way to "gamify" taking notes is _brilliant._ I cannot undersell how valuable it is to have comprehensive notes or logs. Even as a GM, I often refer to the notes made by our resident note-taker. And if you further subdivide the spreadsheet into, like, magic items, treasury, faction notes and prominent NPCs, that sounds both fun to interact with _and_ a massive boon for the entire group.
I failed my focus roll in the Forest of Focus and had to restart the section. One of these days I'll try to actually get diagnosed but that day is not today, lol.
Your comment was my distraction in the forest. I wanted to get diagnosed but everyone believes it's just a lack of sleep, so I have to take a sleep study first. Neat.
I love all of this! I recently got diagnosed with ADHD and I've had a lot of trouble in the past with trying to play DnD. I'm realizing now that these two facts are related. I really resonate with your side note at the end that if you struggle with being a player at the table you might find it easier to be the DM. I definitely have way more fun and a much easier time focusing when I'm running the session from behind the DM screen. (Also, as a math-minded person I really love that I get to roll more dice and add more numbers.) A couple tricks I've heard elsewhere that I now implement in my own games are: 1) Using clothespins on a stick to keep track of initiative order - each clothespin is one character / NPC / group of NPCs acting on the same initiative, and when the turn is over that clothespin is moved to the bottom of the stack. You can write the character names directly on the pins or use tape if you want to reuse the clothespins later for different characters. This trick allows the entire table to see initiative order and keep track of when their turn is coming up soon. Plus, if a party likes to strategize out-of-character based on knowledge of initiative order (which some may call meta-gaming and others may call teamwork), this is really helpful for that as well. 2) At the beginning of each session, I always ask the players to do the recap from last session. It can be whoever wants to (so no pressure from being called on unexpectedly) and that way players can help each other remember the important pieces of the story. Optionally, they can do this in character, either as an actual scene happening in the game or just as a roleplaying warmup. Bonus: it's really helpful to me as the DM to hear the players summarize the campaign so far, because it tells me how they're perceiving the story and whether that's different than what I thought. For example, if the player summary focuses on one element of the story wayyy more than I expected while ignoring a different segment that I know is important for later events, that tells me that I should either find an in-game way to steer the players more in the direction of future clues/leads/NPCs/etc, or to refocus my own plans to better align with the players' aspirations. Or, if the players try to describe something that happened last session but get a bunch of details wrong or are unsure about them, I know that I should clarify what's going on (either in-game or out-of-game, as appropriate). These kinds of adjustments, by the way, are called universal accommodations or universal design, because they change the environment in a way that benefits everyone, not just the individual. (Side note to clarify that universal accommodations are something that should be used in combination with individual accommodations, not purely in place of them) They're super common in educational spaces like schools, childcare, after school programs, and summer camps. But they don't have to just be for those spaces! A classic example is something called the curb-cut effect: putting a slope in the curb was originally for wheelchair users to be able to properly access sidewalks, but it ended up being helpful for lots of other people, including parents with strollers and people on bikes. There are lots of possible accommodations that make everyone's lives easier!
I love using battery operated tea lights to track concentration. All the casters at our table do it now, so we can all see who is concentrating on a spell. I also really like making my fidget objects character relevant. A stuffed toy rat for the character with the urchin background, a string of wooden beads for the ranger, stuff like that.
I'm autistic (and might be ADHD) and TTRPGs are great for me because I can just say what my character is doing or feeling! 🥰 it bypasses SO many social barriers for me! To help me focus I like to take the group notes, doodle or draw the map and I like online audio-only games because they are less overwhelming without a camera! Thanks for the vid! 🙌
It's just so overwhelming to have to basically learn an entire class's spell list in order to use it effectively! 😩 It gets easier to the longer you play, because you just start to develop a basic understanding of what each spell does, but that takes a long time because there are SO many spells!
@@GinnyDi absolutely! And when you find out as a cleric that there *was* a perfect spell for a moment that you'd have taken if you had known about it, and now a friend's PC or a favorite NPC is dead? :(
@@TheKaliedescope Same with my warlock! I've used prestidigitation and thaumaturgy in a variety of different ways (a lot of them to distract enemies) and it's a lot easier for me to focus on being creative with a few tools than knowing the ins and outs of every spell.
My character sheet strategy involves putting not the spell text, but one or two lines summarizing the important bits. Then when I started playing a cleric I made a personal "cleric spell list" by going through the cleric spells and filtering to just the ones I might use, and writing the same 1-2 line summary. Omitting the stuff I'll never ever use, like raising undead because I'm Good, and the stuff that only works if you cast it in a snowstorm or if you have natural claws or whatever. So I've got a nice, not TOO intimidating, list of realistic spell options with quick summaries. The bit of advice I really like is making YOUR own character sheets, cheat sheets, whatever. What works for the other players in my group definitely wouldn't work for me, and vice versa.
Ginny you did a beautiful way of adding little movement/actions to give a dynamic feel to a video that easily could have been a simple “talking head” video. As a videographer I appreciate the effort in multiple sets and adding things in the foreground! Excellent job and effort!
Yes, Ginny! This "stage business" really helped me watch the video without fidgeting. Talking-head videos can be hard to watch... I expect you know this, and same up with the stage business on purpose!
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was young, and I've been DMing since I was quite young as well. A video would clearly be more detailed, but I basically have to create flow charts (whether real or imagined) for how things are going to go in order to stay focused. I simply have a difficult time running premade adventures because I didn't do it myself and there's no accompanying flowchart most of the time. It requires a great deal more prep work, but it's what works for me.
@xavier71a it's so fascinating to me to see you say that you struggle with premade adventures, because I'm exactly the same way and wasn't sure if that had anything to do with my ADHD or if it was just a personal difficulty!
Flow-charts and simplifying dicerolls. write your flowcharts with the intention of letting the "you in the future" get the answer of "What happens next?". I find my biggest issue mid session is that if my brain blips everything has to come to a grinding halt as I try to figure out what goes next. I write my one-shot notes in a google doc with headers I can quickly jump to, and also all information needed for each item/spell/etc are hyperlinked in each section too so i can just click and refer. NPC dialogue fragments (especially exposition) that can be pre-written can help give you some leeway during RP scenes as well. I tend to play a little more loose with absolute combat rolls in that I'll tend to simplify away add-on rolls to an averaged flat addition (e.g. d4+d8? I'll just give that roll a +6) because I'd rather save some time to keep combat snappy rather than spend half an hour per round rolling 4 or 5 separate npc's bonuses while players lose focus.
@@GinnyDi I'm in the process of preparing Descent into Avernus currently and combining it with A Paladin in Hell. Even if I wasn't doing the last part of that, I still am basically having to re-write the entire book (in Foundry) in order to give myself enough of a feel for how the whole thing is supposed to work. Just reading through it doesn't do it for me.
One great tool I use for Druids, Artificers, and Clerics is to build out the idea of "loadouts", the idea being that I take time out of game to put together predefined daily lists for what I think we are going to do that "day" in game. So things like "My Healer Loadout", "My control loadout", or "My steath loadout". Similar to how in the Iron Man comic, he has an armor for different purposes. This means that it makes my life easy to pull a collection of spell cards to cover that, and I know what I have.
I think there was an interesting subtext for pro-fidgeting/split attention. We started with the map, pulling it out looking at it, then lighting the lantern, blowing out candles, ordering from the bar, then writing notes. At no point was her character completely focused on the audience but the video was engaging and informative. It's showing the viewer: hey, you can be doing multiple things at a time and still be engaged
Wow. I've absorbed enough random bits about filmmaking from friends and family that either majored in, or hyperfocused one summer, film... to see the multi-edit sequence talking while assembling a lamp as a heck of a flex, as I didn't spot any continuity errors.
Honestly astonished that I did it in as few takes as I did, considering that every time I look away from the camera, I am also looking away from the teleprompter 😂
There's a special skill involved with being the physical embodiment of your video presentation and all the editing that comes with it that does *not* get appreciated enough. It's easy to praise @GinnyDi for her flashy skits and funny costumes but all that only even works because she's very good at actually piecing together her takes to feel so natural you don't even notice the cuts. Some people might look at someone who puts themself on the screen to do all their skits instead of, say, animating them, as the "cheap/easy route" but as long as you actually *care* about your work (like she very much does) there's lots of challenges associated with that too, and overcoming them doesn't get nearly as appreciated. I wonder how many people think she does each segment in one shot instead of having a harddrive full of bloopers and less-funny failed takes? lol
I have been playing D&D for decades and been aware of my ADHD/i for 13 years, but I constantly forget that I need to be mindful of it when in situations where others are reliant on me paying attention. This video is a good reminder, and is getting me to think of how I should be changing how I interact with the game. Also, a video for DMing with ADHD is DESPERATELY needed.
I'm at my most focused/productive when surrounded by other ADHDers. I feel like it's in large part the relief of not having to explain every little quirk, but having teammates who exactly understand the struggle. If someone needs to take a hard shift in focus, the others are usually happy to go along. We feed one another's need for constant dopamine, and in turn, we have our own needs met, and we all have a better time overall!
Most of this reinforced what I’ve already learned about myself over time but it was SO NICE to share this video with my wife/DM and our group so that they can understand what I’m up against. Sometimes I get up mid encounter when it’s not my turn and speed walk a quick lap around the house humming a tune to myself to get a ‘reset’ when I’m overstimulated and they think I’m insane 😅
I have ADHD, and I have found that I am able to maintain focus best when I DM. When I’m a player, I find my focus wandering to other things, but when I DM, there is just so much going on that I have to keep track of, that my focus is not able to go anywhere
-"Hey, you're not allowed to..." -"Shush, Ginny Di gave me permission." Okay, that was taken out of context a bit but at least I remembered something of what I just watched. 😂 Great video, as always! ❤ And I just realised (a minute before you said it) that I (ADHD, mostly inattentive) indeed enjoy GMing a lot more than being a player because I'm always involved: as a player, if my character is not in the scene, I have nothing to do. As a GM, some NPC is almost always involved. And even if it's a PC-only scene, I still have to listen as I need to know what's going on. Strangely, "I have to pay attention when people are saying" works in those cases - I wish it would during business meetings, too... 😅
Thank you so much, for posting this. While watching this, I recognized so many behavioural patterns of my wife. After telling (and translating) the symptoms to her, she started googling and kept saying "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going through ... that as well ...and that ... everything fits !". She's been told for over 40 years by doctors, that she was "just a sleepy person" and kept relating to her memory, as being riddled with holes, like Swiss cheese (a German expression). Now we know, that it's just one of the symptoms. So, thank you, from the bottom of our collective hearts 🤗
Ginny! Thank you so much for this video, and continuing to draw awareness to the intersection of mental health + TTRPGs. The internet can be a weird, scary place full of trolls, but it also can be a gorgeous place to connect with fellow neurospicy types. If you're reading this and you haven't found your people yet: keep on shining that beacon of yours! Your ADHD community is out there!
WITH EVERY D&DTUBE VIDEO ABOUT ADHD I GROW MORE POWERFUL! Ginny this is brilliant, thank you for sharing your experience and strategies. You being open about your ADHD in the last couple years has genuinely given me a lot of comfort. Shine on.
Thank you Ginny for talking about being neurodivergent. My daughter and I are neurodivergent too (ASD and OCD respectively). Talking about it so important to understanding ourselves more, and to help others understand us too. You're one of my favourite TTRPG TH-cam creators.
Ok but I love this! Thanks for justifying my dnd journal, extra notes and little props I make and bring! I've been struggling if they were "necessary" because the other players at my table don't need them but literally it's my ADHD tool to make playing easier and I've never looked at it that way until now! Edit to add that I have found some quiet background music actually helps me focus on the game better.
12:36 - I love note taking websites/apps that lets everyone share notes. I’m usually the main note taker of my groups, but it’s really helpful when someone else contributes to the notes. If my character is having a “spotlight moment” that is roleplay heavy, it becomes a lot more difficult for me to take notes. This video was very helpful, and I loved all the different sets you made! (And for all the people pleasers (me), thank you for saying that it is okay to ask for accommodation. ♡)
Brilliant video. IRL I am a teacher and modding the game to accommodate those with ADHD (including my son) is crucial. Simplified character sheets and playing in a smaller group really help. Eliminating time-consuming rules like individual initiative and multiple actions/bonus actions are another way to speed play so it takes 1-2 minutes to get back to a player instead of 10 minutes. --Professor DM, DungeonCraft..
As someone who is neuro-divergent I really appreciated the extra effort in the little things you put into this video to accomodate us to keep us engaged more. Thank you for that.
Can we talk about how fucking genius it was to have so many different environments and activities you were doing that were also related to the points you were sharing? There's a lot going on and while I did have to rewind sometimes (like I do for every youtube video 😅) having a lot of related stimuli on screen kept my mind from wandering off too far. This video is so well and thoughtfully made, thank you for being awesome and making some of the best D&D content on youtube
6:15 I actually tried all of these methods and what ended up being the thing that worked best for me is a Google spreadsheet. The columns are: Name of ability or action or spell or whatever, Type (ability, spell, item, etc) and Where it Comes From (eg: Cleric, Grave or Mace of Terror), bonus/action/reaction, times per (short) rest, distance, damage, duration, saving throw, Notes (if it's a less common one I paste the entire rule as written here so I can read the ability out to the DM) Optional columns could include, limitations like disadvantage at certain distances, or RP notes. The benefits are huge. If you need an action or bonus action to fill out your turn, finding one that works is much easier. If you can only remember the name or the effect, finding it is much easier than skimming a book or character sheet. If you're very far, very close or some other specific situation it's much easier to find something that suits it. Plus, since it's hosted on Google, I'm never without it, since I can access it with my phone or ipad. No forgetting it on game day.
In my game, whoever does the best/most accurate recap of the last game receives a point of inspiration for that day's game. It's def an incentive for paying attention.
10:13 on the left some say the candle still burns it will not falter it will not waver it stands up for those forgotten a light in the dark of my clouded mind a memory left to flicker
I had trouble even reading the official sheets, and a flow chart of all my pc's moves and combos has been incredibly helpful! I use Cardboard Cleric's character sheet, and our group always reminds each other "don't forget you got bless", and have a dedicated bag with all my stuff in it. I have my tablet with the spells and class pages open on it, that stops me mentally wandering off.
I love how you were constantly active and fidgeting *in this video!* It kept my eyes stimulated in a way that doesn't often happen for me when watching medium-to-long TH-cam content.
I have been watching D&D videos for 4 or 5 years from many content creators. This video answered so many issues with my prep, and what goes on in my games. I posted it in my Discord for my games for my players to watch today. I can't wait to hear more comments from my players, and see how people can put your information to use. Thank you so much!
I have ADHD and Dyscalculia (sort of like dyslexia but for numbers) so D&D can be rough. Thankfully when I got to play the rest of the table was helpful and understanding.
I got that very same combo (well, actually, just ADD, but still..)! How did you fix it? Did you fix it even? I'm relying bigtime on two players from my group, but got the feeling this won't last forever. So I'm always on the lookout for something to help me with the battles, as they are the least fun part of the game for me, cause of this problem. Case in point, my players are now in a city, where there's almost no combat. Just cause I'm bad at the math and can't wrap my head around it. But they're getting bored and rebellious.. So yeah, I guess - two, maybe three sessions and then it's back to combat :/
No lie, Ginny absentmindedly going on a little quest during this talk made my ADHD brain so happy. Like having music playing in the background while you work, but visual! My ADHD tends to hyperfixate on combat, but it's way too easy for me to get distracted during roleplay. It sucks when it feels like your brain is hardwired to zone out whenever you're not the focus.
I have met many a players (myself included) that could and hopefully will benefit from your advice here. Thanks Ginny! Also looking forward to a potential video for GMs :)
I have SUCH a hard time imagining what is described to me, or remembering what was just said to the group when I am a player, but somehow, running the game as a DM I am able to both provide and receive information just fine. I love the idea of creating a combat / skills list for when I am a player. Information does get buried in dndbeyond as well as printed out character sheets. I have tried taking notes as a player to no avail but the way you described organizing and highlighting information received is exactly how my brain works. Maybe I can work my tablet/keyboard into the mix for better note taking and character/location/quest organization. As usual, great content Ginny! =)
One time I started a new D&D game with a few friends, our DM created this entire universe by scratch with everything custom. Our very first interaction with a person, I forgot we were heading to who would be our main quest giver, got into a big shoot out with him because he gave me attitude, killed him, and completely changed the entire story. All because my ADHD ass forgot where we were going and who we were meeting there.
Thanks for highlighting this and offering practical tips to address these challenges, which are very real. The table of I've played with for decades is 100% comprised of players with ADD - all with different manifestations of their neurodivergence. Understanding each other's needs, strengths, and weaknesses helps - I would absolutely recommend discussing this at session zero so the DM and party can be on the same page. Ultimately, knowing your own pitfalls and using the specific tools, documents, cards, and other things you suggest to support you during game sessions. Being open about our ADD and supporting each other's neurodivergence, sometimes by bringing each other back on track or reminding them "hey, you're concentrating on this spell and wouldn't be able to do that, just as a heads up" before resolving those actions also helps. Great video, Ginny!
The way you like described every aspect of my supposed adhd right at the beginning. The fact that others deal with only a few symptoms or have one primary focus and though I haven’t poked at it in a while, it feels like it’s just all of them, definitely giving me a moment to highlight my main struggles so it doesn’t seem like this big indomitable thing. Measurable goals, and manageable pieces.
Oh my gosh! So much of this is gold! And a lot of this is stuff that I use already, and yes, it is a huge help! As a DM the difficult part is finding the time and focus outside of work and normal life to prep. I like to go all-out printing maps, putting my 3D printer to work making minis and tokens, getting spell and item cards ready to help my players (typically kids) with inventory management, pre-rolling stats and initiative for enemies... anything I can do ahead of time to make things easier and smoother for my players the better. Mostly because they are typically my kids and their friends, so there is always someone new to the game and learning both the game and RP side, so anything to help make that transition easier for them is the best. But if I can get past the prep hurtle, actually running the game as the DM is easy! It is so engaging, and I am typically having the most fun at the table, and letting my frenetic energy rub off on my players. Thinking on my feet in real-time is such a buzz! It is one of my favorite things to do, and I wish that I did it more than a handful of times a year! It is as a player that I find my ADHD causes the most struggles. And here are the tips that I use; 1) Find the right DM. The real job of a DM is personality management and playing matchmaker. The first couple DMs that I had were like me and were plenty competent at running the game and telling a story... but the lack of people skills always makes for more drama management than anyone really wants to deal with regularly for a hobby. My excuse is that most of my games are populated with pre-teens, so a certain amount of butting heads is expected... but as an adult player who only gets to play for a few hours every 3-5 weeks, a session dealing with drama is a huge letdown. When I found a DM that had people skills, it didn't make the conflict prone players go away, but the DM could navigate the situation where it wasn't a problem... or at least not a problem at the table. 2) Find the right group and game. My first long campaign that I stuck with was a ton of fun, and I laughed a lot... but I couldn't tell you what we did, or what the story was the next day. It was chaos management, and glorious in its own right, but it didn't scratch the itch that I had for RP or combat. Same DM, but for this campaign he pitched it as a 'railroad to hell'. He had some brutal combat ideas in mind, and a story that he wanted to write and get out of his system, so this was every bit as much for our DM as it was for the players being entertained. And he has delivered! No player deaths yet, but it is just a matter of time. And we don't have a lot of agency in the world, it is more us trying to navigate the politics of the situation. But oh man! Because we all signed up for it, we are all 100% on board and loving it! Point is, a railroad story is a turn-off to people playing D&D for the antics and shenanigans. Other times the chaos itself can be a turnoff. But know that about yourself and find the right group and story to play with that you can dig into and focus on. 3) Use busywork to your advantage. When I DM then I am the bottleneck. ADHD limits my ability to hold much in my head, so the more I can off-load to OneNote and Excel on my laptop to help me track things the better! I don't think I would be capable of being a DM using only pen and paper. But as a player, it is the opposite. Using my phone or laptop makes me 'too efficient' which then gives me down time in front of a screen, which is just begging for me to be distracted and derailed! So in my case, using pen and paper and books slows down my lookup time and writing so that I always have some background busy work to occupy part of my brain with. It leaves much less time of me sitting there doing nothing and letting my mind and fingers wander. The other issue with keeping notes electronically (especially on phone) is that it looks like you are texting or posting to social media even when you are on task, and that distracts others at the table. So keeping busy is important... but doing it in a way that doesn't derail the normies (or fellow ADHDers!) is equally as important. 4) Use your meds. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! And while I generally discourage axe murderers from playing in real life, it is often encouraged when playing D&D. But seriously, we take meds because we frankly aren't fully present and mentally available when we need to be. We take meds for work because there is that social and fiscal need to be competent human beings for 8-12 hours a day and can get things done. But for us focus is often a choice we make by taking our meds. What does it say to our spouse, or our kids, or our friends when we effectively choose to not be 'all there' for them? What does it say about our self-view if we are unwilling to spend some of our meds and focus on ourselves? That we aren't worth it? That we are only worth being fully present if we are paid to be? That we don't disserve to be fully present and ourselves when we want to do something we enjoy? This is a crisis and guilt trip that normal people don't realize many of us struggle with on a daily basis. And we are worth it, and those around us are worth it, so dedicate at least some of that focus time on yourself and those around you! The complication of course (especially with age) is that D&D is typically played in the evening... and ADHD meds in the evening don't typically align themselves with sleeping well at night. So taking a small dose of ADHD meds before a Friday night session means I'm not really going to get to sleep until 3AM even if the bulk of the meds have worn off around 10pm. That makes for a really lovely me on Saturday morning when stuff needs to get done. If it was weekly... I don't think I could do it. But because it only happens once a month or so, and my wife loves me, she is happy (or at least willing! lol) to let me sleep in on those Satrudays and takes on my normal responsibilities. So yes, I can choose to be present and aware in the evening... but not without needing to plan for the consequences the next day. When I was younger that wasn't such an issue... but at 40 I can't really absorb a night of 2-3 hours of sleep and have a normal day like I use to.
I really like that you give tipps, encouragement and information on what an ADHD player themselves can try and do to improve how they experience the game. To be blunt, a lot of advice I have encountered so far focuses on how the group can accomodate a neurodivergent player instead of how a neurodivergent player can adopt strategies and behaviours to navigate difficult circumstances. Not only do such tipps and advice recognize that there is a certain responsibility on each individual player to try and make the best of the given cirumstances themselves, it also gives agencies to players who find themselves struggling: You are not a helpless victim of conditions outside of xyour control. You can take action. That is helpful. In a similar vein, I very much appreciate that you address how not every group or person can (or wants to) accomodate specific needs of some players, and that that is okay - just as much as it is okay to then decide to not play with that group. It is important to acknowledge that while everyone deserves understanding as well as some kindness, consideration and accomodation for specific needs are not something that can simply be demanded, but has to be discussed.
Sometimes people have conflicting needs, and it’s simply not possible to accommodate everyone at once. If one person needs to be able to pace but another can’t focus if someone is getting up and walking around the room, maybe those two shouldn’t be in the same group.
Thank you Ginny! I'm a DM and one of my very good friedns/players has ADHD, so this video has been very helpful epark ideas to help them feel welcome at our virtual table. Thank you for your awesome content and compassion!
This video brought me so much joy to see. My whole family and I, as well as a lot of people I play with, are neurodivergent and have ADHD specifically. I have a great imagination which helps for roleplay but I also have aphantasia, so visualizers for things like combat help me so much in understanding the flow and tactics required for certain battles. Taking summarized notes during my sessions also really help me to focus, since I have Inattentive ADHD as well.
Being able to knit/crochet (particularly repetitious items I don't need a pattern for) has been a game changer for helping me focus during our sessions. My brain wants to work on something physical while I wait for my turn, and I already listen to videos while I knit. Helps so much
Great video! I play in a few virtual games via Zoom and turning on captions has been so helpful for me. Being able to read some of what's said rather than just trying to process what I hear is much-needed. Like you said, fidget toys and note-taking have been super helpful too!
Holy crap, there are so many little details in this video! It must've taken a ridiculous amount of time to put together, but the production quality is through the roof!!
I'm a beginner DM with sometimes 8 players at my virtual table. A few of them have ADHD, and so do I. I'm still learning, but here's a few tricks I picked up, some of which I've yet to apply but seem like they might help: - Use premade detailed maps even for generic settings, to stimulate creative thinking. "I use thorn whip to make the goblin trip on the tree roots between us." - Mix descriptions with encounters. "The moldy skeleton notices that its sword is dull, so it breaks one of its ribs and tries to stab you with it instead." - Use a tool for customizing stat blocks, and trim them down. Are you really going to need to know the carry weight of that unladen swallow? - Force the party to run errands together. Train your players to think that their character "is always there". - SETUP AN ALARM EVERY HOUR. "Yikes, did we really spend 2h having small talk with unnamed merchants when I had three encounters prepared?"
This makes me feel so much better about my personal worries about my own gameplay behavior. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together, Ginny!
I love the fact that you had a juxtaposition of the camera focus from the foreground to you when you intro'd the focus segment! Excellent use of subtle visual metaphor
As a few others said, you did an excellent job at making this video interesting and engaging for ADHD people to actually hear out what you're saying. Often with a video like this I might start zoning out or something and miss part of it and have to go back a bit. But the way you kept doing little things while you talked caused us to wonder what you were going to do next, what was in the chest, or what you were going to write on the paper, etc. It was the perfect way to keep ADHD people engaged in an ADHD video. Fantastic job, keep up the awesome work Ginny!
Very much appreciated that the environment is changing and little things are being done constantly, thus providing enough visual stimulation to keep but not take away focus, made watching this easier
Not only did this video help me understand both what I and my players need to make dnd more helpful but also the fact that this video is structured like a mini adventure itches the part of my childhood brain that loves pop-up books
13:13 I find going "Steve, your turn. Susan, your on deck," helps for everyone in combat but also THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP MUSIC. It's the one thing I hate the most for distractions while gaming and everyone seems to demand blaring it and deafening you.
You are such a hero! I have DMed for 35 years and never had any of the challenges you speak of, but I know they exist and what a challenge they van be for people. Your ability to explain complexity and defuse the guilt and shame I know many feel due to their struggles is just immensely refreshing. Thank you so much for everything you do to make this community better and more inclusive.
Because I have two monitors and desk space I take a lot of notes. I write down every interaction by hand, I keep track of details with my second monitor. It's how I focus in class and it really helps with DnD. I've even added it into a character backstory to explain why she remembers everything for some reason. I also aimlessly roll a D20 but don't use the numbers for actual rolls. I write down all my spells and exactly what they do on a separate cheat sheet, similar things with combat. I also highlight things like initiative on my character sheet so I remember to add for it!
I am 18 and (atm undiagnosed but pretty obviously) have ADHD and I recently joined my first DnD party, because it always looked fun as an outsider, but I didn't expect _how much_ I would struggle to focus on the game, only 1 or 2 hours in. I do really enjoy it, but after just 2 introduction sessions I am over here, considering to leave again, because it could break immersion for me and everyone else whenever I miss an important piece of the story or forget about half my character's abilities. I was aware of this and had set up specific coping mechanisms before finding this video, but knowing that many people are in this situation with specifically DnD gave me an immeasurable amount of confidence to keep trying until I find a way that works for me. Thanks for the informative (and also beautiful) video.
This is why support workers use D&D and miniature games like Games Workshop as an opportunity to capacity build clients skills, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, self regulating, mindfulness, communication and working together in a collaborative cooperative environment sometimes with other students that they may not know well. TTRPG and other community development programs are extremely important and beneficial for ADHD, People with Autism, learning disability, social anxiety and depression.
Thank you for this! It is one of the best public service announcements ever. It covers challenges and ways to mitigate them for a broad swath of mental and emotional conditions beyond ADHD. You're the best! Not sure if you need to read this; anyone capable of building the online presence and community you have is pretty amazing.
Ginni, I'm a casual lurker on this channel and this video just explained literally every struggle I've had with DnD since I started playing 8 years ago! I love the game but I found it so hard to get into - and I think you've finally helped me understand why. I'm going to start using these strategies right away. THANK YOU!
Yes! I love not only what you said in this video, but that the whole video was very ADHD friendly with you just performing different tasks all the time, having different backgrounds and stugg like that! That's really cool, it was neither too much nor too less, just a little bit!
As someone with adhd who basically turned into a perma DM, i can only agree with all the points made. While i do sometimes dabble in the beauty of being a player in other roleplaying systems led by my friends, i can't help but hate myself for having the expectation of being an attentive and helpful player, just to be distracted at the 1st word another player speaks to anyone but me. As a DM on the other hand i find myself much more engaged, not just because everyone always has to engage with me, but because i have the full attention of people who actively engage with the things that i have thought up and dwelled on for so long in my mind spirals. I guess i one could also see this as a bit of a ego-thing, but hey, dont we all deserve to be the diva we want to be sometimes
I play only online right now, and I've found that using a standing desk really helps me focus. I get all the fidgeting out through my feet so I can keep my eyes on the screen. And as a GM, having two or three screens with my maps and information, plus the Zoom call, means I don't lose things and I can see my players as they talk.
Ginny, I always appreciate that you use your platform and perspective to talk about this topic in the TTRPG space. Especially as an ADHD GM who runs games with *several* friends with ADHD plus other neurodivergences. You really help me focus my thoughts and intentions on how to facilitate a more satisfying, inclusive game for everyone! EDIT: Okay, this video style was amazing. I’m sure it was a ton more writing, setup, and editing than your usual style-but it was super engaging! You probably did this intentionally, but interacting with props while you talked really helped me focus on what you were saying!
From someone who has ADHD i even like the fact that this very video has you doing small things to keep our concentration (finding your keys, lighting the lantern, writing witha quill) Big thank you
What a great video! I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my 40s, but it was there. I developed my own personal 'fidget for gaming when I was in college - my sketchbook! I just started gaming again back in November, and I have dozens of sketches of my characters, a few of other party members… it's a big help. I also write down information pertinent to the game. I do have to monitor myself during combat, to make sure I am ready for my turn. Your point about distractions is well-taken. I play at a store, where there are 2-3 tables, and some players at other tables have really big voices. Then there are also cross-conversations sometimes when the DM is talking to me. The folks at my table do try to be considerate of everyone, and I'm glad to be back in the Forgotten Realms.
Gamefying paying attention sounds so me-coded. So does fidgeting or doodling. I can’t believe how helpful this is for my fictitious campaign and group of friends. Something so nice hearing about how other people experience this struggle that feels so huge to me and little ways that can help you big like how simply knitting could help someone else.
I would absolutely love a DMing with ADHD video! This was great. I really enjoyed how you kept moving throughout the video and things kept changing. Way to make sure I watched the whole thing and not just listened to it while doing something else :)
Even though I'm very borderline ADHD (and not diagnosed) I found this video really encouraging and fascinating, and think it's one of the best things you've done. I'm definitely sharing it with some friends (and hopefully their kids.)
Wow! Just wow! The things you said resonated so much with me. I love that you spread awareness, while normalizing the different nuanced symptoms. We likely all have been through those frustrating conversations with people that have absolutely zero idea what they‘re talking about, telling us how to live our lives, like saying we shouldn‘t take medicine prescribed by a doctor (because it harms people when taken 5 times the amount???), while they go drinking every weekend. Or telling us to „just try harder“, when literally the part in our brain affecting our willpower is not working properly. Love the great knowledge that preaches acceptance of everyone, while giving tips to help them
i dont know how to thank you enough for the cheat sheet omg. ever since i started playing nearly a decade ago, I've had dms ask me "why didn't you use this?" and point out a feature i forgot about that most people would remember. having an organized document with all i need to know is gonna make everything so much easier. I'm mostly gonna use it for combat, but i can really see it coming in handy for those items that do things that i forget about during roleplay too!!
This was a great video and I feel seen on a day where I felt guilty for struggling to focus on a 2 hour session and often being worried my stimming will be picked up by the mic during online sessions. It's only recently that I heard a professional tell me it's not my fault that some things are more difficult, and hearing you point out the same in regards to D&D is a very nice comfort. I think there were a few aspects that could have had a little more detail, but I can see myself going back to this video to inform neurotypicals, remind myself, or to comfort other adhd players. Thank you so much, great job!
I've just been diagnosed for ADHD at age 50 and given medication. SO many years wasted! The medication made such a huge difference. I can now be still, in body and mind.
I have every one of these issues in real life, and no matter how much I love D&D, it is way easier to be a DM, than a player, because I am constantly engaged. Plus, I love setting up scenes and then letting my players go. These are all really good tips that I will definitely try to implement in future games. Thank you! 😁
I'm 37 years old, definitely ADHD & about to play my first D&D session. I've always wanted to play, but other things got in the way & I'm excited to finally take the dive. But I'd be lying if I said I don't have some anxiety about playing. I'm already friends with everyone playing, & the DM is very highly regarded, so I feel pretty comfortable going into the unknown. I appreciate your video for talking about this subject & reminding me that we're not alone in trying to get our brains to sit still for a while! Great video!
The video for DMs is here! 🎉 th-cam.com/video/zRw04TqbvEI/w-d-xo.html
I dm a group of 4 adhd players - somehow this is the only time we dont experience the symptoms. Its the best group ive ever dmed for
Right level of challenge can make our brains light up!
What kind of game do you run?
During my grad studies in psychology, I came across a study on ADHD whereby participants were put under an fMRI whilst given different tasks. What they found had a huge impact on me, since I always described myself the same way. Basically, when people with certain types of ADHD (inattentive) are presented redundant tasks/information, their brains shut down in a way that emulates sleep - the harder they try to force themselves to focus on a non-novel task, the more their brains looked like they were sleeping. This explained a lot of the 'reading a textbook to only find myself a couple chapters in, asleep, in a puddle of drool, with no knowledge of said chapters'! I suspect that you're good at avoiding tedious scenarios and you keep things short and novel.....it's like crack to the ADHD brain.
You just might be running a therapy session disguised as a d&d game.
Same. We do 9 hour games, the hyper focus comes into play
1:44 the camera slowly adjusting focus while you're talking about ADHDers struggling with focus is an absolutely genius visual pun xD
Loved the camera struggling to focus when you entered the Forest of Focus
If I can make a pun, I will 😂😂
@@GinnyDiSo it *was* intentional! :D Loved that moment as well!
And struggling to find the keys while talking about "object permanence"
@@Synastershadow It's a relief that others have the same "object disappearance" issues. Sigh.
@@m_d1905 Oh god yes, you're SO not alone with that struggle 👍.
Not ADHD but I am on the autism spectrum. One of my specific symptoms is that I have a difficult time tuning out background noise, which makes it harder to focus on the thing in front of me. My first campaign was in a noisy game store, so I just simply asked to sit closer to the DM so I can hear them more clearly. This made things go far smoother, and I spent a lot less time having to lean in and ask the DM to repeat themselves
DMs: listen to your disabled players
I also struggle with background noise, to the point of getting headaches when there's too many sources of it (e.g., an open house event).
Yes, a "DM tips for the ADHDMs among us" video would be awesome! I struggle playing a single character or tracking the story as a player but find DMing much easier in many ways. Tons of stuff to keep my mind stimulated plus having firm deadlines of game nights where my players are depending on me to be ready helps me stay on top of things.
Thay deadline helps alot.
"Whelp it's 12 hours until the game. I got to think of something! Let's go, chaos gods!"
Yes this!
I would love thos as well becuase how the FUCK do I force myself to do prep?
My problem when i DM is that i start the game with clear goals and by about session 8-10 i am completely off the rails. Not due to my players but due to my inability to stop inputting random ideas into the game moment to moment.
I always expected to be awful at DMing, the whole concept seems like a conglomeration of all the things my ADD gets in the way of.. Focus, memory, organisation, deadlines, etc.. But eventually I ended up giving it a go in order to try and get some friends interested in playing and found it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it'd be.. experience from a few more campaigns since then and I've found myself gravitating towards character driven campaigns with plots woven into their backstories runnung in the backgraound and (with a few resources open to help) mostly improv the rest based on what the party decide to do and what the NPCs reactions would logically be.. And somehow things like focus and memory aren't as much of an issue because it's more like you're playing every other character in the world rather than just being an NPC and it also makes engaging with the storyline in a way that it sticks in the memory much easier.. Can't really say that oorganisation and deadlines got any easier, but that's where the more improvised style I've gravitated towards comes in
Been playing since 78. My doc says I have “A D big H D”. Solution? Be the DM. As a player I struggle. Fidgeting? Constantly tapping foot? Guilty as charged. Being a DM is actually easier than being a player.
Same!
As someone with ADHD who loves TTRPGS (not just DND), the venn diagram of the TTRPG and neurodivergent community is practically a circle
It's because it's a place where people can pretend to be something else other than their lives that don't match with society
I really struggled to pay attention during one-on-one conversations between NPCS and other players. Then I accidentally became my game's stenographer. It helps me stay engaged, and as a bonus, we have a really good record of everything that's ever said!!
That’s AMAZING. I also pay attention by being the primary note taker, but just general things and important names or details. Full on recording conversations is just so epic
I appreciate you working in props throughout (lighting the lamp, unlocking the chest, writing the notes) so that it's not just a monologue. You definitely understand the audience for this video!
I didn't realize that I did it, but I felt so at home in watching the little things that were going on in the video. I love how this video is helping on several levels.
Ooooh, that’s why. 🙏🏾 Thanks
Maybe I'll have to go back and watch it again. Because I "watched" it while playing a mindless game on my phone, which is how I engage with most TH-cam D&D content (and why I prefer D&D podcasts to actual play video streams).
Not ADHD, but I have severe narcolepsy and I struggle so much with staying awake and alert during sessions. I have found that knitting or crocheting have really helped me!
Loved this video! Definitely going to use some of these tips. Would love it if you did a video on ADHD tips for GMs - I really struggle with session prep
I'd really like to! GMs with ADHD face such different challenges than players do.
Please do! I want to run Candela but I’m afraid I’ll get distracted while GMing :/
Yes! Half the time it feels like a slog to type up my notes/recaps after a session and start working on the prep notes for the next one, especially if there's not something super exciting planned like a big boss battle or travel to a new location that I'm excited to introduce
That's why I love Candela, it's a game that moves faster and always has active moments. I found as a GM, it was easier running my first ever session, than when I've run DND sessions (which I have years of experience). Amazing how it has now improved my DND gameplay, which is quicker, efficient, and only has rolls when things matter (a staple of Candela)@@magicianmana4
PLEASE! This is exactly what I struggle with and video would be amazing.
you have -SUCH- a calm and reasonable way of telling us at the beginning "THIS VIDEO ISNT ME SAYING EVERYONES EXPERIENCE WILL BE LIKE THIS, PLEASE DONT @ ME" I felt it. lol.
I’m a 31-year old grad student, husband, father, D&D player and DM. I only learned about 2 months ago that I have ADHD (also inattentive subtype). As I’ve been learning more about ADHD, it’s really been like I’ve found my tribe. I’ve lived my whole life thinking I’m incredibly lazy and forgetful… it brings up terrible imposter syndrome and depression.
Ginny, I seriously appreciate the efforts you put into making this such an informative, engaging, and awareness-raising video. You’ve treated a highly misunderstood topic with such sensitivity, respect, and grace… and you still made it engaging for non-ADHD people, too. Thank you!
As someone who has lived with it (and other things) my whole life (diagnosed when I was so young I literally dont remember a time I WASNT), I just wanted to say I'm happy that you finally have the closure/answers to help explain well...YOURSELF to you. It can feel so validating and help you deal with things mentally once you just...know. I've seen it with many friends and I just wanted to extend the olive branch to say you arent lazy or forgetful. Your mind works differently and that's okay. Keep doing what you're doing and I know you'll go far
Never been a grad student but otherwise very relatable.
Hey, welcome to the tribe! I was diagnosed at 35 (5.5 years ago) with combined subtype. The more you work on understanding yourself, the more you see the things you do as a result of brain chemistry rather than an inherent character flaw, the more you will learn to forgive yourself and seek solutions to the common problems you face instead of banging your head against a wall. It's a long road of unlearning the old, unhelpful ways of doing things and replacing them with new learnings, but it's a gradual and rewarding process. Best of luck to you!
Same here! I haven't been diagnosed yet, hoping to get some counseling this year (but sadly this requires phone calls), but I have learned so much in the last year or so as I've opened myself up to the possibility. I too have always felt lazy and forgetful, despite knowing that I *do* try and often have an awesome memory for things (like game rules, lucky me).
Now if only I could focus enough to really get all the details from this video... thankfully, rewatching stuff is comforting to me, and repetition breeds success!
A little older and AUdhd but I feel your comment!
An elaborate session spreadsheet as a way to "gamify" taking notes is _brilliant._ I cannot undersell how valuable it is to have comprehensive notes or logs. Even as a GM, I often refer to the notes made by our resident note-taker. And if you further subdivide the spreadsheet into, like, magic items, treasury, faction notes and prominent NPCs, that sounds both fun to interact with _and_ a massive boon for the entire group.
I failed my focus roll in the Forest of Focus and had to restart the section. One of these days I'll try to actually get diagnosed but that day is not today, lol.
I'm distracted from watching this video cuz I am prepping for a game I am running tonight and talking to friends 💀
Getting diagnosed and treated for ADHD takes so much executive function that we don't usually have
same, especially the second half.
Your comment was my distraction in the forest. I wanted to get diagnosed but everyone believes it's just a lack of sleep, so I have to take a sleep study first. Neat.
I love all of this! I recently got diagnosed with ADHD and I've had a lot of trouble in the past with trying to play DnD. I'm realizing now that these two facts are related.
I really resonate with your side note at the end that if you struggle with being a player at the table you might find it easier to be the DM. I definitely have way more fun and a much easier time focusing when I'm running the session from behind the DM screen. (Also, as a math-minded person I really love that I get to roll more dice and add more numbers.)
A couple tricks I've heard elsewhere that I now implement in my own games are:
1) Using clothespins on a stick to keep track of initiative order - each clothespin is one character / NPC / group of NPCs acting on the same initiative, and when the turn is over that clothespin is moved to the bottom of the stack. You can write the character names directly on the pins or use tape if you want to reuse the clothespins later for different characters. This trick allows the entire table to see initiative order and keep track of when their turn is coming up soon. Plus, if a party likes to strategize out-of-character based on knowledge of initiative order (which some may call meta-gaming and others may call teamwork), this is really helpful for that as well.
2) At the beginning of each session, I always ask the players to do the recap from last session. It can be whoever wants to (so no pressure from being called on unexpectedly) and that way players can help each other remember the important pieces of the story. Optionally, they can do this in character, either as an actual scene happening in the game or just as a roleplaying warmup. Bonus: it's really helpful to me as the DM to hear the players summarize the campaign so far, because it tells me how they're perceiving the story and whether that's different than what I thought. For example, if the player summary focuses on one element of the story wayyy more than I expected while ignoring a different segment that I know is important for later events, that tells me that I should either find an in-game way to steer the players more in the direction of future clues/leads/NPCs/etc, or to refocus my own plans to better align with the players' aspirations. Or, if the players try to describe something that happened last session but get a bunch of details wrong or are unsure about them, I know that I should clarify what's going on (either in-game or out-of-game, as appropriate).
These kinds of adjustments, by the way, are called universal accommodations or universal design, because they change the environment in a way that benefits everyone, not just the individual. (Side note to clarify that universal accommodations are something that should be used in combination with individual accommodations, not purely in place of them) They're super common in educational spaces like schools, childcare, after school programs, and summer camps. But they don't have to just be for those spaces! A classic example is something called the curb-cut effect: putting a slope in the curb was originally for wheelchair users to be able to properly access sidewalks, but it ended up being helpful for lots of other people, including parents with strollers and people on bikes. There are lots of possible accommodations that make everyone's lives easier!
I love using battery operated tea lights to track concentration. All the casters at our table do it now, so we can all see who is concentrating on a spell.
I also really like making my fidget objects character relevant. A stuffed toy rat for the character with the urchin background, a string of wooden beads for the ranger, stuff like that.
Oh that's such a fun idea to use a themed fidget object!
omg this is fucking brilliant... guess I'm buying some battery candles.
I may have to steal this tbh, that's a fantastic idea
I'm autistic (and might be ADHD) and TTRPGs are great for me because I can just say what my character is doing or feeling! 🥰 it bypasses SO many social barriers for me!
To help me focus I like to take the group notes, doodle or draw the map and I like online audio-only games because they are less overwhelming without a camera!
Thanks for the vid! 🙌
I heard my players of a one shot *specifically* talk about how they preferred spellcasting classes that had set spell lists.
It's just so overwhelming to have to basically learn an entire class's spell list in order to use it effectively! 😩 It gets easier to the longer you play, because you just start to develop a basic understanding of what each spell does, but that takes a long time because there are SO many spells!
@@GinnyDi absolutely! And when you find out as a cleric that there *was* a perfect spell for a moment that you'd have taken if you had known about it, and now a friend's PC or a favorite NPC is dead? :(
Even though I'm sometimes sad my sorcerer doesn't have access to all the things, I'm somehow more creative with my limited number of tools.
@@TheKaliedescope Same with my warlock! I've used prestidigitation and thaumaturgy in a variety of different ways (a lot of them to distract enemies) and it's a lot easier for me to focus on being creative with a few tools than knowing the ins and outs of every spell.
My character sheet strategy involves putting not the spell text, but one or two lines summarizing the important bits. Then when I started playing a cleric I made a personal "cleric spell list" by going through the cleric spells and filtering to just the ones I might use, and writing the same 1-2 line summary. Omitting the stuff I'll never ever use, like raising undead because I'm Good, and the stuff that only works if you cast it in a snowstorm or if you have natural claws or whatever. So I've got a nice, not TOO intimidating, list of realistic spell options with quick summaries.
The bit of advice I really like is making YOUR own character sheets, cheat sheets, whatever. What works for the other players in my group definitely wouldn't work for me, and vice versa.
Ginny you did a beautiful way of adding little movement/actions to give a dynamic feel to a video that easily could have been a simple “talking head” video. As a videographer I appreciate the effort in multiple sets and adding things in the foreground! Excellent job and effort!
Yes, Ginny! This "stage business" really helped me watch the video without fidgeting. Talking-head videos can be hard to watch... I expect you know this, and same up with the stage business on purpose!
I’ve been DMing for over a year and I just got diagnosed with ADHD. I would LOVE another video for ADHD DMs.
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was young, and I've been DMing since I was quite young as well. A video would clearly be more detailed, but I basically have to create flow charts (whether real or imagined) for how things are going to go in order to stay focused. I simply have a difficult time running premade adventures because I didn't do it myself and there's no accompanying flowchart most of the time. It requires a great deal more prep work, but it's what works for me.
@xavier71a it's so fascinating to me to see you say that you struggle with premade adventures, because I'm exactly the same way and wasn't sure if that had anything to do with my ADHD or if it was just a personal difficulty!
Can we please have a video for ADHDMs Ginni? I’m a ADD DM for ADHD players and I would appreciate any advice I can get. Thank you so much!
Flow-charts and simplifying dicerolls.
write your flowcharts with the intention of letting the "you in the future" get the answer of "What happens next?". I find my biggest issue mid session is that if my brain blips everything has to come to a grinding halt as I try to figure out what goes next. I write my one-shot notes in a google doc with headers I can quickly jump to, and also all information needed for each item/spell/etc are hyperlinked in each section too so i can just click and refer.
NPC dialogue fragments (especially exposition) that can be pre-written can help give you some leeway during RP scenes as well.
I tend to play a little more loose with absolute combat rolls in that I'll tend to simplify away add-on rolls to an averaged flat addition (e.g. d4+d8? I'll just give that roll a +6) because I'd rather save some time to keep combat snappy rather than spend half an hour per round rolling 4 or 5 separate npc's bonuses while players lose focus.
@@GinnyDi I'm in the process of preparing Descent into Avernus currently and combining it with A Paladin in Hell. Even if I wasn't doing the last part of that, I still am basically having to re-write the entire book (in Foundry) in order to give myself enough of a feel for how the whole thing is supposed to work. Just reading through it doesn't do it for me.
One great tool I use for Druids, Artificers, and Clerics is to build out the idea of "loadouts", the idea being that I take time out of game to put together predefined daily lists for what I think we are going to do that "day" in game. So things like "My Healer Loadout", "My control loadout", or "My steath loadout". Similar to how in the Iron Man comic, he has an armor for different purposes. This means that it makes my life easy to pull a collection of spell cards to cover that, and I know what I have.
I think there was an interesting subtext for pro-fidgeting/split attention. We started with the map, pulling it out looking at it, then lighting the lantern, blowing out candles, ordering from the bar, then writing notes. At no point was her character completely focused on the audience but the video was engaging and informative. It's showing the viewer: hey, you can be doing multiple things at a time and still be engaged
Omg! I’ve never heard of another person fidgeting via taking waaaay too detailed notes - so good to know I’m not alone out here 😅
Wow. I've absorbed enough random bits about filmmaking from friends and family that either majored in, or hyperfocused one summer, film... to see the multi-edit sequence talking while assembling a lamp as a heck of a flex, as I didn't spot any continuity errors.
Honestly astonished that I did it in as few takes as I did, considering that every time I look away from the camera, I am also looking away from the teleprompter 😂
There's a special skill involved with being the physical embodiment of your video presentation and all the editing that comes with it that does *not* get appreciated enough. It's easy to praise @GinnyDi for her flashy skits and funny costumes but all that only even works because she's very good at actually piecing together her takes to feel so natural you don't even notice the cuts. Some people might look at someone who puts themself on the screen to do all their skits instead of, say, animating them, as the "cheap/easy route" but as long as you actually *care* about your work (like she very much does) there's lots of challenges associated with that too, and overcoming them doesn't get nearly as appreciated. I wonder how many people think she does each segment in one shot instead of having a harddrive full of bloopers and less-funny failed takes? lol
I have been playing D&D for decades and been aware of my ADHD/i for 13 years, but I constantly forget that I need to be mindful of it when in situations where others are reliant on me paying attention. This video is a good reminder, and is getting me to think of how I should be changing how I interact with the game.
Also, a video for DMing with ADHD is DESPERATELY needed.
I'm at my most focused/productive when surrounded by other ADHDers. I feel like it's in large part the relief of not having to explain every little quirk, but having teammates who exactly understand the struggle. If someone needs to take a hard shift in focus, the others are usually happy to go along. We feed one another's need for constant dopamine, and in turn, we have our own needs met, and we all have a better time overall!
Most of this reinforced what I’ve already learned about myself over time but it was SO NICE to share this video with my wife/DM and our group so that they can understand what I’m up against.
Sometimes I get up mid encounter when it’s not my turn and speed walk a quick lap around the house humming a tune to myself to get a ‘reset’ when I’m overstimulated and they think I’m insane 😅
Great video and this advice can be used by all players. I love the travelogue style.
A wide-ranging journey through all the backdrops I keep in my basement 😂 Glad you liked it!
I have ADHD, and I have found that I am able to maintain focus best when I DM. When I’m a player, I find my focus wandering to other things, but when I DM, there is just so much going on that I have to keep track of, that my focus is not able to go anywhere
-"Hey, you're not allowed to..."
-"Shush, Ginny Di gave me permission."
Okay, that was taken out of context a bit but at least I remembered something of what I just watched. 😂 Great video, as always! ❤
And I just realised (a minute before you said it) that I (ADHD, mostly inattentive) indeed enjoy GMing a lot more than being a player because I'm always involved: as a player, if my character is not in the scene, I have nothing to do. As a GM, some NPC is almost always involved. And even if it's a PC-only scene, I still have to listen as I need to know what's going on. Strangely, "I have to pay attention when people are saying" works in those cases - I wish it would during business meetings, too... 😅
Thank you so much, for posting this. While watching this, I recognized so many behavioural patterns of my wife. After telling (and translating) the symptoms to her, she started googling and kept saying "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going through ... that as well ...and that ... everything fits !". She's been told for over 40 years by doctors, that she was "just a sleepy person" and kept relating to her memory, as being riddled with holes, like Swiss cheese (a German expression). Now we know, that it's just one of the symptoms.
So, thank you, from the bottom of our collective hearts 🤗
Ginny! Thank you so much for this video, and continuing to draw awareness to the intersection of mental health + TTRPGs. The internet can be a weird, scary place full of trolls, but it also can be a gorgeous place to connect with fellow neurospicy types. If you're reading this and you haven't found your people yet: keep on shining that beacon of yours! Your ADHD community is out there!
WITH EVERY D&DTUBE VIDEO ABOUT ADHD I GROW MORE POWERFUL!
Ginny this is brilliant, thank you for sharing your experience and strategies. You being open about your ADHD in the last couple years has genuinely given me a lot of comfort. Shine on.
Thank you Ginny for talking about being neurodivergent. My daughter and I are neurodivergent too (ASD and OCD respectively). Talking about it so important to understanding ourselves more, and to help others understand us too. You're one of my favourite TTRPG TH-cam creators.
Ok but I love this! Thanks for justifying my dnd journal, extra notes and little props I make and bring! I've been struggling if they were "necessary" because the other players at my table don't need them but literally it's my ADHD tool to make playing easier and I've never looked at it that way until now!
Edit to add that I have found some quiet background music actually helps me focus on the game better.
12:36 - I love note taking websites/apps that lets everyone share notes. I’m usually the main note taker of my groups, but it’s really helpful when someone else contributes to the notes. If my character is having a “spotlight moment” that is roleplay heavy, it becomes a lot more difficult for me to take notes.
This video was very helpful, and I loved all the different sets you made!
(And for all the people pleasers (me), thank you for saying that it is okay to ask for accommodation. ♡)
Brilliant video. IRL I am a teacher and modding the game to accommodate those with ADHD (including my son) is crucial. Simplified character sheets and playing in a smaller group really help. Eliminating time-consuming rules like individual initiative and multiple actions/bonus actions are another way to speed play so it takes 1-2 minutes to get back to a player instead of 10 minutes. --Professor DM, DungeonCraft..
Yes!! I'm a big fan of homebrewing the rules to make them simpler - especially for younger players. These are great tips 🥰🙏
Two minutes in, and I LOVE the camera trick in the forest of focus! Genius 😎
As someone who is neuro-divergent I really appreciated the extra effort in the little things you put into this video to accomodate us to keep us engaged more. Thank you for that.
Can we talk about how fucking genius it was to have so many different environments and activities you were doing that were also related to the points you were sharing? There's a lot going on and while I did have to rewind sometimes (like I do for every youtube video 😅) having a lot of related stimuli on screen kept my mind from wandering off too far. This video is so well and thoughtfully made, thank you for being awesome and making some of the best D&D content on youtube
What I came here to say
6:15 I actually tried all of these methods and what ended up being the thing that worked best for me is a Google spreadsheet. The columns are: Name of ability or action or spell or whatever, Type (ability, spell, item, etc) and Where it Comes From (eg: Cleric, Grave or Mace of Terror), bonus/action/reaction, times per (short) rest, distance, damage, duration, saving throw, Notes (if it's a less common one I paste the entire rule as written here so I can read the ability out to the DM)
Optional columns could include, limitations like disadvantage at certain distances, or RP notes.
The benefits are huge. If you need an action or bonus action to fill out your turn, finding one that works is much easier. If you can only remember the name or the effect, finding it is much easier than skimming a book or character sheet. If you're very far, very close or some other specific situation it's much easier to find something that suits it.
Plus, since it's hosted on Google, I'm never without it, since I can access it with my phone or ipad. No forgetting it on game day.
In my game, whoever does the best/most accurate recap of the last game receives a point of inspiration for that day's game. It's def an incentive for paying attention.
That is a great idea, I might use that, not only does it reward note taking but it helps the others
Stealing this
When you focused the camera when you mention the topic of focusing is *chef's kiss* cinema! Great work!
10:13 on the left some say the candle still burns it will not falter it will not waver it stands up for those forgotten a light in the dark of my clouded mind a memory left to flicker
Why is this so poetic sounding?
I had trouble even reading the official sheets, and a flow chart of all my pc's moves and combos has been incredibly helpful! I use Cardboard Cleric's character sheet, and our group always reminds each other "don't forget you got bless", and have a dedicated bag with all my stuff in it.
I have my tablet with the spells and class pages open on it, that stops me mentally wandering off.
I love how you were constantly active and fidgeting *in this video!* It kept my eyes stimulated in a way that doesn't often happen for me when watching medium-to-long TH-cam content.
I have been watching D&D videos for 4 or 5 years from many content creators. This video answered so many issues with my prep, and what goes on in my games. I posted it in my Discord for my games for my players to watch today. I can't wait to hear more comments from my players, and see how people can put your information to use. Thank you so much!
As someone who grew up "only needing to apply himself," thank you so much for this video.
I have ADHD and Dyscalculia (sort of like dyslexia but for numbers) so D&D can be rough. Thankfully when I got to play the rest of the table was helpful and understanding.
I got that very same combo (well, actually, just ADD, but still..)! How did you fix it? Did you fix it even? I'm relying bigtime on two players from my group, but got the feeling this won't last forever. So I'm always on the lookout for something to help me with the battles, as they are the least fun part of the game for me, cause of this problem. Case in point, my players are now in a city, where there's almost no combat. Just cause I'm bad at the math and can't wrap my head around it. But they're getting bored and rebellious.. So yeah, I guess - two, maybe three sessions and then it's back to combat :/
Skill issue
Such a blessing as a DM that dnd is my hyperfocus, my record is an 11 hour session and i wasnt tired or distracted at all, i could have kept going
No lie, Ginny absentmindedly going on a little quest during this talk made my ADHD brain so happy. Like having music playing in the background while you work, but visual!
My ADHD tends to hyperfixate on combat, but it's way too easy for me to get distracted during roleplay. It sucks when it feels like your brain is hardwired to zone out whenever you're not the focus.
I have met many a players (myself included) that could and hopefully will benefit from your advice here. Thanks Ginny! Also looking forward to a potential video for GMs :)
I have SUCH a hard time imagining what is described to me, or remembering what was just said to the group when I am a player, but somehow, running the game as a DM I am able to both provide and receive information just fine.
I love the idea of creating a combat / skills list for when I am a player. Information does get buried in dndbeyond as well as printed out character sheets. I have tried taking notes as a player to no avail but the way you described organizing and highlighting information received is exactly how my brain works. Maybe I can work my tablet/keyboard into the mix for better note taking and character/location/quest organization.
As usual, great content Ginny! =)
I LOVE all the specific little visual aids??? Thank you for expanding the accessibility vocabulary. This is so helpful and so needed. 🍃💚
One time I started a new D&D game with a few friends, our DM created this entire universe by scratch with everything custom.
Our very first interaction with a person, I forgot we were heading to who would be our main quest giver, got into a big shoot out with him because he gave me attitude, killed him, and completely changed the entire story.
All because my ADHD ass forgot where we were going and who we were meeting there.
Thanks for highlighting this and offering practical tips to address these challenges, which are very real. The table of I've played with for decades is 100% comprised of players with ADD - all with different manifestations of their neurodivergence. Understanding each other's needs, strengths, and weaknesses helps - I would absolutely recommend discussing this at session zero so the DM and party can be on the same page. Ultimately, knowing your own pitfalls and using the specific tools, documents, cards, and other things you suggest to support you during game sessions. Being open about our ADD and supporting each other's neurodivergence, sometimes by bringing each other back on track or reminding them "hey, you're concentrating on this spell and wouldn't be able to do that, just as a heads up" before resolving those actions also helps. Great video, Ginny!
Heeeeeey! I was thinking about the Azrai this whole video, I'm glad he actually got brought up. He's a cool dude.
Oh yeah, he's a friend! His was the very first video I watched (well, re-watched) when I started working on this video.
The way you like described every aspect of my supposed adhd right at the beginning. The fact that others deal with only a few symptoms or have one primary focus and though I haven’t poked at it in a while, it feels like it’s just all of them, definitely giving me a moment to highlight my main struggles so it doesn’t seem like this big indomitable thing. Measurable goals, and manageable pieces.
I have ADD and I'm DM, sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's easy, the key is to love what you're doing.
I love that you are helping rather than just embracing!
Oh my gosh! So much of this is gold! And a lot of this is stuff that I use already, and yes, it is a huge help!
As a DM the difficult part is finding the time and focus outside of work and normal life to prep. I like to go all-out printing maps, putting my 3D printer to work making minis and tokens, getting spell and item cards ready to help my players (typically kids) with inventory management, pre-rolling stats and initiative for enemies... anything I can do ahead of time to make things easier and smoother for my players the better. Mostly because they are typically my kids and their friends, so there is always someone new to the game and learning both the game and RP side, so anything to help make that transition easier for them is the best. But if I can get past the prep hurtle, actually running the game as the DM is easy! It is so engaging, and I am typically having the most fun at the table, and letting my frenetic energy rub off on my players. Thinking on my feet in real-time is such a buzz! It is one of my favorite things to do, and I wish that I did it more than a handful of times a year!
It is as a player that I find my ADHD causes the most struggles. And here are the tips that I use;
1) Find the right DM. The real job of a DM is personality management and playing matchmaker. The first couple DMs that I had were like me and were plenty competent at running the game and telling a story... but the lack of people skills always makes for more drama management than anyone really wants to deal with regularly for a hobby. My excuse is that most of my games are populated with pre-teens, so a certain amount of butting heads is expected... but as an adult player who only gets to play for a few hours every 3-5 weeks, a session dealing with drama is a huge letdown. When I found a DM that had people skills, it didn't make the conflict prone players go away, but the DM could navigate the situation where it wasn't a problem... or at least not a problem at the table.
2) Find the right group and game. My first long campaign that I stuck with was a ton of fun, and I laughed a lot... but I couldn't tell you what we did, or what the story was the next day. It was chaos management, and glorious in its own right, but it didn't scratch the itch that I had for RP or combat.
Same DM, but for this campaign he pitched it as a 'railroad to hell'. He had some brutal combat ideas in mind, and a story that he wanted to write and get out of his system, so this was every bit as much for our DM as it was for the players being entertained. And he has delivered! No player deaths yet, but it is just a matter of time. And we don't have a lot of agency in the world, it is more us trying to navigate the politics of the situation. But oh man! Because we all signed up for it, we are all 100% on board and loving it!
Point is, a railroad story is a turn-off to people playing D&D for the antics and shenanigans. Other times the chaos itself can be a turnoff. But know that about yourself and find the right group and story to play with that you can dig into and focus on.
3) Use busywork to your advantage. When I DM then I am the bottleneck. ADHD limits my ability to hold much in my head, so the more I can off-load to OneNote and Excel on my laptop to help me track things the better! I don't think I would be capable of being a DM using only pen and paper.
But as a player, it is the opposite. Using my phone or laptop makes me 'too efficient' which then gives me down time in front of a screen, which is just begging for me to be distracted and derailed! So in my case, using pen and paper and books slows down my lookup time and writing so that I always have some background busy work to occupy part of my brain with. It leaves much less time of me sitting there doing nothing and letting my mind and fingers wander.
The other issue with keeping notes electronically (especially on phone) is that it looks like you are texting or posting to social media even when you are on task, and that distracts others at the table. So keeping busy is important... but doing it in a way that doesn't derail the normies (or fellow ADHDers!) is equally as important.
4) Use your meds. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! And while I generally discourage axe murderers from playing in real life, it is often encouraged when playing D&D.
But seriously, we take meds because we frankly aren't fully present and mentally available when we need to be. We take meds for work because there is that social and fiscal need to be competent human beings for 8-12 hours a day and can get things done. But for us focus is often a choice we make by taking our meds. What does it say to our spouse, or our kids, or our friends when we effectively choose to not be 'all there' for them? What does it say about our self-view if we are unwilling to spend some of our meds and focus on ourselves? That we aren't worth it? That we are only worth being fully present if we are paid to be? That we don't disserve to be fully present and ourselves when we want to do something we enjoy? This is a crisis and guilt trip that normal people don't realize many of us struggle with on a daily basis. And we are worth it, and those around us are worth it, so dedicate at least some of that focus time on yourself and those around you!
The complication of course (especially with age) is that D&D is typically played in the evening... and ADHD meds in the evening don't typically align themselves with sleeping well at night. So taking a small dose of ADHD meds before a Friday night session means I'm not really going to get to sleep until 3AM even if the bulk of the meds have worn off around 10pm. That makes for a really lovely me on Saturday morning when stuff needs to get done. If it was weekly... I don't think I could do it. But because it only happens once a month or so, and my wife loves me, she is happy (or at least willing! lol) to let me sleep in on those Satrudays and takes on my normal responsibilities. So yes, I can choose to be present and aware in the evening... but not without needing to plan for the consequences the next day. When I was younger that wasn't such an issue... but at 40 I can't really absorb a night of 2-3 hours of sleep and have a normal day like I use to.
I really like that you give tipps, encouragement and information on what an ADHD player themselves can try and do to improve how they experience the game. To be blunt, a lot of advice I have encountered so far focuses on how the group can accomodate a neurodivergent player instead of how a neurodivergent player can adopt strategies and behaviours to navigate difficult circumstances. Not only do such tipps and advice recognize that there is a certain responsibility on each individual player to try and make the best of the given cirumstances themselves, it also gives agencies to players who find themselves struggling: You are not a helpless victim of conditions outside of xyour control. You can take action. That is helpful.
In a similar vein, I very much appreciate that you address how not every group or person can (or wants to) accomodate specific needs of some players, and that that is okay - just as much as it is okay to then decide to not play with that group. It is important to acknowledge that while everyone deserves understanding as well as some kindness, consideration and accomodation for specific needs are not something that can simply be demanded, but has to be discussed.
Sometimes people have conflicting needs, and it’s simply not possible to accommodate everyone at once. If one person needs to be able to pace but another can’t focus if someone is getting up and walking around the room, maybe those two shouldn’t be in the same group.
Thank you Ginny! I'm a DM and one of my very good friedns/players has ADHD, so this video has been very helpful epark ideas to help them feel welcome at our virtual table. Thank you for your awesome content and compassion!
This video brought me so much joy to see. My whole family and I, as well as a lot of people I play with, are neurodivergent and have ADHD specifically. I have a great imagination which helps for roleplay but I also have aphantasia, so visualizers for things like combat help me so much in understanding the flow and tactics required for certain battles. Taking summarized notes during my sessions also really help me to focus, since I have Inattentive ADHD as well.
The fact that I had to stop and rewind, and stop and rewind, is proof that I really needed a video like this.
(Thank you for it! 🔥❤️)
-Sigh- Ditto mate. Caught myself doing the very same thing. You're not alone :)
Being able to knit/crochet (particularly repetitious items I don't need a pattern for) has been a game changer for helping me focus during our sessions. My brain wants to work on something physical while I wait for my turn, and I already listen to videos while I knit. Helps so much
Great video! I play in a few virtual games via Zoom and turning on captions has been so helpful for me. Being able to read some of what's said rather than just trying to process what I hear is much-needed.
Like you said, fidget toys and note-taking have been super helpful too!
Well done! Practical compassion for yourself and your group is a perfect topic for you to talk about and help us enjoy this great game even more.
Holy crap, there are so many little details in this video! It must've taken a ridiculous amount of time to put together, but the production quality is through the roof!!
I'm a beginner DM with sometimes 8 players at my virtual table. A few of them have ADHD, and so do I.
I'm still learning, but here's a few tricks I picked up, some of which I've yet to apply but seem like they might help:
- Use premade detailed maps even for generic settings, to stimulate creative thinking. "I use thorn whip to make the goblin trip on the tree roots between us."
- Mix descriptions with encounters. "The moldy skeleton notices that its sword is dull, so it breaks one of its ribs and tries to stab you with it instead."
- Use a tool for customizing stat blocks, and trim them down. Are you really going to need to know the carry weight of that unladen swallow?
- Force the party to run errands together. Train your players to think that their character "is always there".
- SETUP AN ALARM EVERY HOUR. "Yikes, did we really spend 2h having small talk with unnamed merchants when I had three encounters prepared?"
This makes me feel so much better about my personal worries about my own gameplay behavior. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together, Ginny!
I love the fact that you had a juxtaposition of the camera focus from the foreground to you when you intro'd the focus segment! Excellent use of subtle visual metaphor
As a few others said, you did an excellent job at making this video interesting and engaging for ADHD people to actually hear out what you're saying. Often with a video like this I might start zoning out or something and miss part of it and have to go back a bit. But the way you kept doing little things while you talked caused us to wonder what you were going to do next, what was in the chest, or what you were going to write on the paper, etc. It was the perfect way to keep ADHD people engaged in an ADHD video. Fantastic job, keep up the awesome work Ginny!
Very much appreciated that the environment is changing and little things are being done constantly, thus providing enough visual stimulation to keep but not take away focus, made watching this easier
Not only did this video help me understand both what I and my players need to make dnd more helpful but also the fact that this video is structured like a mini adventure itches the part of my childhood brain that loves pop-up books
13:13 I find going "Steve, your turn. Susan, your on deck," helps for everyone in combat but also THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP MUSIC. It's the one thing I hate the most for distractions while gaming and everyone seems to demand blaring it and deafening you.
Yes! Being told I'm 'on deck' really prompts me to focus in 🙏
You are such a hero! I have DMed for 35 years and never had any of the challenges you speak of, but I know they exist and what a challenge they van be for people. Your ability to explain complexity and defuse the guilt and shame I know many feel due to their struggles is just immensely refreshing. Thank you so much for everything you do to make this community better and more inclusive.
Because I have two monitors and desk space I take a lot of notes. I write down every interaction by hand, I keep track of details with my second monitor. It's how I focus in class and it really helps with DnD. I've even added it into a character backstory to explain why she remembers everything for some reason. I also aimlessly roll a D20 but don't use the numbers for actual rolls. I write down all my spells and exactly what they do on a separate cheat sheet, similar things with combat. I also highlight things like initiative on my character sheet so I remember to add for it!
I am 18 and (atm undiagnosed but pretty obviously) have ADHD and I recently joined my first DnD party, because it always looked fun as an outsider, but I didn't expect _how much_ I would struggle to focus on the game, only 1 or 2 hours in. I do really enjoy it, but after just 2 introduction sessions I am over here, considering to leave again, because it could break immersion for me and everyone else whenever I miss an important piece of the story or forget about half my character's abilities. I was aware of this and had set up specific coping mechanisms before finding this video, but knowing that many people are in this situation with specifically DnD gave me an immeasurable amount of confidence to keep trying until I find a way that works for me. Thanks for the informative (and also beautiful) video.
This is why support workers use D&D and miniature games like Games Workshop as an opportunity to capacity build clients skills, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, self regulating, mindfulness, communication and working together in a collaborative cooperative environment sometimes with other students that they may not know well. TTRPG and other community development programs are extremely important and beneficial for ADHD, People with Autism, learning disability, social anxiety and depression.
Thank you for this! It is one of the best public service announcements ever. It covers challenges and ways to mitigate them for a broad swath of mental and emotional conditions beyond ADHD. You're the best! Not sure if you need to read this; anyone capable of building the online presence and community you have is pretty amazing.
Ginni, I'm a casual lurker on this channel and this video just explained literally every struggle I've had with DnD since I started playing 8 years ago! I love the game but I found it so hard to get into - and I think you've finally helped me understand why. I'm going to start using these strategies right away. THANK YOU!
Yes! I love not only what you said in this video, but that the whole video was very ADHD friendly with you just performing different tasks all the time, having different backgrounds and stugg like that! That's really cool, it was neither too much nor too less, just a little bit!
As someone with adhd who basically turned into a perma DM, i can only agree with all the points made. While i do sometimes dabble in the beauty of being a player in other roleplaying systems led by my friends, i can't help but hate myself for having the expectation of being an attentive and helpful player, just to be distracted at the 1st word another player speaks to anyone but me. As a DM on the other hand i find myself much more engaged, not just because everyone always has to engage with me, but because i have the full attention of people who actively engage with the things that i have thought up and dwelled on for so long in my mind spirals. I guess i one could also see this as a bit of a ego-thing, but hey, dont we all deserve to be the diva we want to be sometimes
This right here! That blend of tactile AND theater of the mind is so crucial for me playing D&D, so thank you for putting this out there!
I play only online right now, and I've found that using a standing desk really helps me focus. I get all the fidgeting out through my feet so I can keep my eyes on the screen. And as a GM, having two or three screens with my maps and information, plus the Zoom call, means I don't lose things and I can see my players as they talk.
That’s so smart, I might try that
Ginny, I always appreciate that you use your platform and perspective to talk about this topic in the TTRPG space.
Especially as an ADHD GM who runs games with *several* friends with ADHD plus other neurodivergences.
You really help me focus my thoughts and intentions on how to facilitate a more satisfying, inclusive game for everyone!
EDIT: Okay, this video style was amazing. I’m sure it was a ton more writing, setup, and editing than your usual style-but it was super engaging! You probably did this intentionally, but interacting with props while you talked really helped me focus on what you were saying!
From someone who has ADHD i even like the fact that this very video has you doing small things to keep our concentration (finding your keys, lighting the lantern, writing witha quill)
Big thank you
What a great video! I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my 40s, but it was there. I developed my own personal 'fidget for gaming when I was in college - my sketchbook! I just started gaming again back in November, and I have dozens of sketches of my characters, a few of other party members… it's a big help. I also write down information pertinent to the game. I do have to monitor myself during combat, to make sure I am ready for my turn. Your point about distractions is well-taken. I play at a store, where there are 2-3 tables, and some players at other tables have really big voices. Then there are also cross-conversations sometimes when the DM is talking to me. The folks at my table do try to be considerate of everyone, and I'm glad to be back in the Forgotten Realms.
Gamefying paying attention sounds so me-coded. So does fidgeting or doodling. I can’t believe how helpful this is for my fictitious campaign and group of friends. Something so nice hearing about how other people experience this struggle that feels so huge to me and little ways that can help you big like how simply knitting could help someone else.
I would absolutely love a DMing with ADHD video!
This was great. I really enjoyed how you kept moving throughout the video and things kept changing. Way to make sure I watched the whole thing and not just listened to it while doing something else :)
🥰 The video for DMs is now here! th-cam.com/video/zRw04TqbvEI/w-d-xo.html
Even though I'm very borderline ADHD (and not diagnosed) I found this video really encouraging and fascinating, and think it's one of the best things you've done. I'm definitely sharing it with some friends (and hopefully their kids.)
Wow! Just wow! The things you said resonated so much with me. I love that you spread awareness, while normalizing the different nuanced symptoms. We likely all have been through those frustrating conversations with people that have absolutely zero idea what they‘re talking about, telling us how to live our lives, like saying we shouldn‘t take medicine prescribed by a doctor (because it harms people when taken 5 times the amount???), while they go drinking every weekend. Or telling us to „just try harder“, when literally the part in our brain affecting our willpower is not working properly. Love the great knowledge that preaches acceptance of everyone, while giving tips to help them
i dont know how to thank you enough for the cheat sheet omg.
ever since i started playing nearly a decade ago, I've had dms ask me "why didn't you use this?" and point out a feature i forgot about that most people would remember. having an organized document with all i need to know is gonna make everything so much easier.
I'm mostly gonna use it for combat, but i can really see it coming in handy for those items that do things that i forget about during roleplay too!!
This was a great video and I feel seen on a day where I felt guilty for struggling to focus on a 2 hour session and often being worried my stimming will be picked up by the mic during online sessions. It's only recently that I heard a professional tell me it's not my fault that some things are more difficult, and hearing you point out the same in regards to D&D is a very nice comfort.
I think there were a few aspects that could have had a little more detail, but I can see myself going back to this video to inform neurotypicals, remind myself, or to comfort other adhd players. Thank you so much, great job!
I've just been diagnosed for ADHD at age 50 and given medication.
SO many years wasted! The medication made such a huge difference. I can now be still, in body and mind.
I have every one of these issues in real life, and no matter how much I love D&D, it is way easier to be a DM, than a player, because I am constantly engaged. Plus, I love setting up scenes and then letting my players go. These are all really good tips that I will definitely try to implement in future games. Thank you! 😁
I'm 37 years old, definitely ADHD & about to play my first D&D session. I've always wanted to play, but other things got in the way & I'm excited to finally take the dive. But I'd be lying if I said I don't have some anxiety about playing. I'm already friends with everyone playing, & the DM is very highly regarded, so I feel pretty comfortable going into the unknown. I appreciate your video for talking about this subject & reminding me that we're not alone in trying to get our brains to sit still for a while! Great video!