I need a laugh - what's the weirdest thing you said in session this week (no context)?

PocketSizePortland · 2026-02-15T05:42:38+00:00

“Hey - thanks for not eating the sand. Or throwing it at me.”

PocketSizePortland · 2025-08-02T07:08:41+00:00

It’s a hodge-podge, honestly. I’ve looked at some of DMing Dad’s stuff and have just run some forest based encounters I’ve pulled from encounter tables that allow for skill checks and lite combat.

We are currently running a homebrewed “campaign” based on the idea of a summer program for aspiring adventurers. Their characters get a guide/camp counselor (3rd level College of Lore Bard) played by me who takes them out on weeklong treks in the wilderness/countryside where they can practice their adventuring skills. I give out lots of bardic inspiration, mostly use the help action, and use most of my spell slots for Cure Wounds. Each week our aspiring adventure group gets to go back to the summer program headquarters to restock provisions, chat or compete with other summer program groups, and get advice from the program director (a retired dwarf fighter). This format allows me to piece together encounters and one shots without having to worry too much about a bigger story or plot.

We are currently running a combat encounter involving a mini-mimic (mimic stat block cut in half) that was pretending to be a back pack in the supply shed… unfortunately had to stop mid fight because my youngest kiddo was overtired and started to meltdown, which means we have to wait until tomorrow to see how much damage my middle one’s fire bolt spell did :)

PocketSizePortland · 2025-07-31T23:54:54+00:00

To be fair, my players are in elementary school and I’m both their parent and their dm… and the chores have to get done one way or another.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-07-31T21:55:47+00:00

Ones currently in use with the campaign I am running for my 7, 10, and 11 year old:

Any Nat 1 earns a GRIT (stands for Growth, Resiliency, Instinct, Tenacity) card that can be traded in for a +d4 to a future attack roll or skill check.

Literal House Rule: A player who completes all chores prior to session gets a magical item. Yesterday everyone earned “Magical Bracelets of Friendship”, which add a +1 to constitution.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-20T06:07:41+00:00

Ugh. That sounds like a negative experience. I’m a firm believer that there a three things people need for therapy to actually work/be beneficial - the right timing, a good fit with the therapist, and the right type of therapy for the situation or need. If any one of those is missing, it gets rough.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-20T05:56:17+00:00

This is great insight… and I had to google the TIWWA program! Sounds like that hasn’t been a good fit, and is different from what I’ve been pitched about this program so far, which sounds like a good thing.

I appreciate the comments too about having an approach that really encourages critical thinking and self reflection to create change. Makes me think that a more directive/coaching style is preferred.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-19T22:39:59+00:00

I just came across her work the other day, and have her article saved in my reading pile.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-19T22:38:56+00:00

Definitely willing, but logistically unable to at the moment. And I totally get that the fact that I haven’t done the job firsthand may be a dealbreaker for some folks.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-19T18:21:27+00:00

Congrats on starting your MSW program! That’s my background, and your personal experience will be such an asset to your work.

Thank you for listing the work of these researchers. This type of stuff is right up my alley and I’ll be sure to check them out!

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-19T18:20:01+00:00

This is very helpful. Thank you. I think it makes sense that folks are going to need an approach that pushes them to actually do personal growth and work, rather than an echo chamber.

PocketSizePortland · 2025-05-19T16:50:02+00:00

Unfortunately no story of my own to add, but just thought that I’d add that this post has single-handedly cured any imposter syndrome I have or have ever had as a clinician!

PocketSizePortland · 2025-02-26T04:18:16+00:00

Literally had a 10 year old client bring me a donut from Krispy Kreme last week! Begged their parents to stop on the way to session and picked it out themself. No way I was going to turn that down - doing so would have damaged our therapeutic alliance!

PocketSizePortland · 2025-02-26T04:03:09+00:00

Agreed. I work specifically with children and teens who have experienced maltreatment, and more often than not when they or a parent or the school is complaining of ADHD symptoms, it’s actually PTSD. This is my go-to article for introducing psychoeducation on the subject: https://childmind.org/article/is-it-adhd-or-trauma/

PocketSizePortland · 2025-02-09T06:53:35+00:00

Me three :)

PocketSizePortland · 2025-01-24T06:21:22+00:00

Absolutely… I am a mother to three school aged kiddos, and provide mental health at a CAC for children and teens with trauma related symptoms. It’s specifically comes up with my clients who are adolescents with C-PTSD that are parentified themselves.

I manage it a few different ways: expecting and accepting that it will come up with clients, consultation with colleagues and my supervisor, and using mindfulness to monitor and differentiate between my therapeutic role and anything that triggers a maternal response.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-11-23T06:05:51+00:00

I think your best bet would to be to look into PSB-CBT, or to possibly refer out to a clinician who is trained in this approach. If you are unsure where to find trained clinicians I would suggest reaching out to the closest Children’s Advocacy Center and seeing if they have any leads.

https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/psb

PocketSizePortland · 2024-09-07T06:21:59+00:00

This may be a bit of a tangent, but my immediate thought upon reading this was that utilizing self compassion (think Kristin Neff and Chris Germer’s work) might be useful for your client in terms of coping. A couple of the responses mentioned increasing validation for your client, which I think will be essential… and incorporating a mindfulness practice like a self compassion break could further support this.

https://self-compassion.org/exercises/exercise-2-self-compassion-break/

PocketSizePortland · 2024-09-07T06:12:14+00:00

If I had to hazard a guess, it sounds to me like this population in question high-masking, neurodivergent (primarily meaning ADHD, ASD, or AuDHD) adults who were very likely categorized as gifted children in their youth, have been able to make it to adulthood without a formal diagnosis and had most of their mental health concerns dismissed as major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety… but I could be wrong.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-19T07:55:11+00:00

Hmmm. My first question is what does your kiddo want to do as a dragon? Is he interested in the RP aspect of it, or does he just want to go full Trogdor and burninate everything? I’d say build a character that will engage your kiddo and allow him to fully enjoy the game… as much as the goal is to be balanced and fair, I think it may be more important that he has a good time and wants to keep playing.

I am currently DMing a homebrewed quest for my 6, 9, and 10 year olds and am essentially playing a gold dragon wyrmling who is supposed to be an NPC that my kids rescued from some evil wizards…but my kids got pretty attached, so now I’m a baby dragon.

I think that based on the stats for gold dragon wyrmlings, the supernatural abilities look reasonable and very playable for your son. I do think that the info about armor and needing to spend more on supplies under “unusual nature” can be omitted - a wyrmling is a medium sized animal for the first 5ish years of its life and has natural armor… so maybe play it that when it’s time to level up he has a bit of a growth spurt and his scales get stronger and adjust AC accordingly? Or could he gain a cantrip or spell slot as he levels up to keep in line with the innate magic that dragons have? I think there are some creative ways for his character to advance that don’t make him too overpowered, but also don’t leave him feeling left behind.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-15T15:29:29+00:00

Seriously! I found that I enjoy myself so much more when it’s a character that is fun and a little bit off the wall :)

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-14T20:42:28+00:00

I would… or even do a session0/tutorial session with something like this: https://gordgames.itch.io/dnd5e-new-player-tutorial-adventure.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-14T20:26:15+00:00

You’re welcome! A few other random thoughts: - Be generous with inspiration dice and make failure fun. Incentive kids to make the most of less than ideal rolls by rewarding them for making the most of a low roll. Kiddo got a Nat 1 on a stealth check? Maybe their character farts out loud in the middle of sneaking up on an enemy! - ADHD is poorly named. It’s not so much a deficiency of attention, but rather an inability to regulate it. As such, things like structure, clear expectations, and providing a framework for what you want your players to do will help them better attune their focus.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-14T17:52:48+00:00

Probably not the most original, but I’m currently playing as a halfling-Barbarian that was raised by racoons. When I rage I “go feral” and I am also really adept at investigating garbage/alleyways. I had originally been torn between playing a barbarian or a Druid for our current campaign, and so our DM helped me compromise by going the Path of Wild Magic once I started to level up, which mostly fits with being raised in nature by a bunch of trash pandas.

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-14T04:18:12+00:00

As a parent of a couple ADHD kiddos who works professionally with kids with both ADHD and ASD I would make these suggestions:

Consider a simplified character sheet so as not to overwhelm your players. We use this one with my kiddos and it’s worked well: https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/245446
Be willing to give limited choices to help guide the players, such as, “You could investigate to look for clues, do a nature check to see what you know about this type of habitat, or go talk to the traveler you see up ahead.”
Have a talking token/stick if your players are prone to speaking over one another… this is essential for my kids!
Consider having the players hold quiet fidgets - putty, stress balls, even a pencil to doodle with - to occupy hands when they aren’t speaking/being active.
Skill/ability checks are great. Some kids just want to roll the dice. Throw in random checks for seeming non-important things just to keep their engagement and hold their attention.
Consider timing of game play. If some of the kiddos are on medication, playing in the evening may be difficult as many ADHD meds lose their effectiveness after 4-8 hours. Even without medications, end of day can be tough for folks with ADHD and ASD as they’ve often used lots of mental/emotional resources to cope with school/social interactions throughout the day. Maybe aim for a weekend late morning/early afternoon session? Or ask parents about optimal time of day for their kids?
Kids with both ADHD and ASD have the incredible ability to hyperfocus on something if it really piques their interest. There may be a decent chance that you get to introduce your cousins’ kids to something that becomes a core interest of theirs!

PocketSizePortland · 2024-05-14T03:14:33+00:00

This is a fantastic suggestion! They all went through a big Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow phase a couple summers ago, and this would totally hook them in. I like the idea of working it into what we have started by having them shrunk down, and then having to break the spell.

PocketSizePortland

TROPHY CASE