Athion’s on track for a bright gaming future
Wednesday, September 15th, 2021
What a smile! Three year-old Athion is now able to join in the gaming fun with his two older siblings thanks to an adapted controller setup devised by our specialist assessment team.
Athion has loved watching his family playing on the Xbox and Nintendo Switch but his cerebral palsy affects his hand movement, making a standard controller very difficult to use. His mother could see that he really wanted to be part of the action so she got in touch to see if we could help.
Face-to-face visits still aren’t possible at the moment due to COVID-19 restrictions so our specialist assessment team carried out an initial online assessment with Athion and his family. He was able to demonstrate how he held a crayon to draw pictures and how he used his iPad, so after discussing his abilities and possible controller solutions the team decided to recommend an initial loan of two large button switches, along with a Velcro-cover stabilising tray and connections to the gaming consoles. The aim of the loan equipment was to establish if he could play Mario Kart on the Switch with the Smart Steering option activated, using one of the buttons to accelerate and the other to throw items.
A second call was arranged to help the family to set up the equipment, and the team were over the moon to see Athion successfully playing for the first time ever!
Athion loves his setup – it’s given a huge boost to his inclusion and it’s opened up a world of gaming possibilities. We’re so glad we could help, and we’ll be there for him if he needs further support in the future.
