Therapeutic Role-Playing Games for Neurodivergent Children

There is a global shortage of therapeutic and social support for neurodivergent children and youth, with significant consequences for wellbeing, education, and life outcomes. Therapeutically Assisted Role-Playing Games (TARPGs) have emerged as a promising group-based intervention where participants assume characters and co-create narratives, rehearsing social, emotional, and problem-solving skills in a safe, imaginative setting. However, facilitators – whether therapists, parents, teachers, or social workers – face a practical challenge: documenting what happens in complex, multi-player sessions without disrupting the live interaction.

AURA (AI-Assisted Understanding of Roleplay) is a system that addresses this barrier. Using voice recording of play sessions, AURA automatically captures, transcribes, and analyses TARPG gameplay, producing structured post-session summaries with key event timelines, spotlight characters, and action highlights. Facilitators can focus on the participants rather than note-taking, while still having detailed records for clinical follow-up or planning future sessions. By lowering the barrier to entry, AURA aims to extend the reach of TARPGs beyond scarce clinical settings and into the hands of the broader network of carers supporting neurodivergent young people.