Making Gaming Accessible to All

Where did it all start

About 3 years ago we had someone visit us to see if we could help him to play his Xbox again.  At that time it was a small request and we actually struggled to help him as his health was deteriorating.  He had been an avid gamer but due to his condition he was now finding it difficult to navigate the controller.    At the time, the team reflected on the injustice of this young person wanting to game with his friends, but not being able to. We did some research and soon realised that the gaming industry is so completely inaccessible to people with physical disabilities.  

We did however, find the most amazing organisation in the UK called Special Effect UK,  after reading every blog post written we eventually following up with an email introducing ourselves.  They were changing the face of gaming in the UK.  How fantastic!

During our Skype call, we chatted with them about what they do, who they help and how they do it.  That was it.  We were hooked.  This is what we want for Australia – to make gaming accessible for all.  So a few months later and full of ambition, we started the program controlAble.  Daniel, a qualified Electronics Engineer volunteered almost full time for a whole year before we were successful in an obtaining funding from The Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation.   This funding allowed us to employ Daniel for 2 years!

So here we are 18 months in and going strong with the amazing addition of a dedicated controlAble Occupational Therapist, Faye.  Whilst we are still small, we have helped many people to get back to gaming or even start gaming and our passion for our cause remains. 

Gaming gives people the opportunity to escape from reality, where colour, gender and ability are all invisible, where you can determine how people see you. The gaming industry has so far to go and its just not okay, but we are hoping to change this in Australia, one person at a time. 

If you feel as passionately as we do about this, please take the time to follow us on Facebook to see how you can help us achieve our mission:  to make gaming accessible to all!