Dixit And Emotions: The Game That Became A Tool For Understanding The Autistic World
- Lidi Garcia
- Jun 12
- 3 min read

Researchers used the board game Dixit to talk to autistic people about how they experience and view autism. Using the game's illustrated cards, participants expressed their feelings and experiences, revealing challenges, strengths, and issues with society. The study showed that creative methods like this help to better understand autism and value the voices of those who live with this condition in their daily lives.
Autism is a condition that affects brain development and behavior. It is estimated that about 1 in 100 people in the world have some degree of autism. Children diagnosed with autism number 1 in 31.
For a long time, this condition was seen mainly in a negative light, as something that made life difficult for the person diagnosed.
However, in recent years, a new vision has gained strength: that autism is a different way of being and perceiving the world that, although it brings challenges, can also involve unique skills, resilience, and special ways of thinking.

One important way to better understand autism is to hear from autistic people directly. Knowing how they live, what they feel, and what obstacles they face helps society create more inclusive and fair conditions.
To this end, many researchers have used so-called qualitative methods, which seek to understand people’s lived experiences through more open conversations, such as interviews or discussion groups.
Although these methods are already useful, many scholars are looking for more creative ways to conduct this type of research, especially with autistic people. This is because autistic people sometimes communicate differently and may feel more comfortable with approaches that do not involve direct speech.

One such approach is called “gamification,” which involves transforming an activity into something similar to a game, making it more interesting, engaging, and accessible.
The idea of using games in this context is not new. Games, especially board games, have proven to be very positive for autistic people. They help develop social skills and provide a more comfortable environment for self-expression.
Many autistic people actively participate in gaming communities. However, the use of games as a tool for scientific research, especially qualitative research, is still uncommon.

With this in mind, researchers at the University of Plymouth, UK, created an innovative project that used the board game “Dixit” to interview autistic people. In Dixit, players use illustrated cards, with symbolic images and open to different interpretations.
In the study, groups of 5 to 8 autistic participants were asked to choose a card that, for them, represented what “autism” meant. Then, each one explained the reason for their choice.
These statements, along with the images of the cards, were carefully analyzed by the researchers. From these conversations, three main themes emerged: Challenges (the difficulties that autistic people face), Strengths (the qualities and skills that they value themselves), and Society (how they feel about social expectations, prejudices and inclusion).
Each of these themes was divided into subthemes, and the researchers also observed how the images on the cards helped to express feelings and thoughts in a symbolic way, which would be difficult with words alone.

This study showed that autism is experienced in a unique way by each person, with deep personal and emotional meanings. Using the Dixit game as a tool helped participants express themselves more freely and creatively. In addition, the method, called “Dixit-elicitation”, proved to be promising not only for research, but also as a possible therapeutic technique.
In short, this innovative project contributed to expanding our understanding of autism, showing that listening to autistic people themselves, using methods that are more sensitive to their ways of being, is essential to promoting a more welcoming, informed and respectful society.
READ MORE:
Metaphors and myths: using the board game Dixit to understand the autistic lived experience
Atherton, G., Dawson, E., and Cross, L.
Discover Psychology, Volume 5, article number 35, (2025)
Abstract:
Autism is a condition that takes on many meanings, particularly to those with lived experience. Exploring these meanings is paramount to being able to improve the way that autistic people are treated in the wider world. To further examine autistic lived experience, a new form of qualitative analysis was developed in line with the growing trend of gamification, or creating a game-like condition for exploring different domains. In this paper, we present Dixit-elicitation, a form of qualitative inquiry that uses the popular board game Dixit to interview autistic people about their experiences living with the condition. Themes and subthemes relating to challenges, strengths, and societal expectations are discussed, along with the images found in the relevant Dixit cards, which lead to a more nuanced understanding of the metaphors and myths experienced by autistic people. These themes are discussed, along with the consideration of Dixit-elicitation as a new method for qualitative inquiry.
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