“I can play without my hands aching or shaking.”

Rebecca’s looking forward to a game-filled 2021 thanks to a custom gaming setup devised by our specialist assessment team. She has dystonia Parkinsonism, and controlling her fingers to master a standard gaming controller is very difficult and tiring. But now the loan of a chin, foot and hand-controlled setup is helping her get the very best out of Tomb Raider and Assassin’s Creed, her favourite games.

It’s not simply an equipment loan that’s giving Rebecca a gaming edge, however. Behind the success of this carefully-chosen combination of joysticks, buttons, mounting equipment and interfaces is a complex support package from our team that’s so far included video call advice, custom modifications and ongoing help.

Our team use video calls for our online assessments – essential now that face-to-face visits aren’t possible due to the pandemic – to ensure that each piece of equipment in the optimum position for safe, comfortable and effective access. They gave invaluable advice specific to Rebecca’s needs about game settings that could make play easier, such as swapping button taps for button holds and toggling aim in Tomb Raider. Our technical team wrote some game-specific custom code for an adaptor she was using, making it easier for her to change weapons. And the chin joystick you can see her using in the video is the result of follow-up support – it’s a later addition that our team recommended when Rebecca felt ready to try two joysticks, rather than one.

It’s the comprehensive nature of our truly personalised, practical and professional help, driven by our passion to ‘do whatever it takes’, that’s enabling Rebecca to get the very best from her gaming abilities and experience the maximum gaming fun and inclusion. We’re delighted to see her so happy, and our lifelong service means that we’ll continue to support her and her family for as long as they’d like us to.

Below: 20 seconds of Rebecca playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider with her new setup