“You’ve made a little boy very happy”

Benjamin’s having the time of his life playing FIFA with his dad thanks to the help of our specialist assessment team and the loan of a carefully selected joystick that exactly matches his needs and abilities.

Benjamin loves FIFA and can play using its two-button mode. He has cerebral palsy, and although he has difficulty using his right hand he’s able to use a controller with the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. He’d been using a Joy-Con to play, but the way he had to hold it meant that moving right across the screen required an upward push of the joystick.

Our therapists Jacob and Joe met with Benjamin and his family via a remote assessment call to discuss ways in which he might improve his access to the game he loved. They recommended a joystick from our extensive loan library of assistive gaming equipment that had the potential to be easier for him to hold than the Joy-Con, and whose joystick directions would work as he wanted them to. Its two buttons could also be mapped for FIFA’s two button mode.

The joystick was dispatched along with the appropriate connections and adaptors for it to work with a Nintendo Switch and, as the video shows, it’s been a real success.

“You’ve made a little boy very happy and his daddy too,” said his father. “I feel like a teenager again scoring ‘worldie’ goals with Benjamin!”

We’re so glad that the loan is making such a positive difference to Benjamin’s enjoyment of his games and enabling him to play with his family. Our team will be on hand to offer further online specialist support as he takes on more gaming challenges in the future, and we’re looking forward to meeting him in person if needed as soon as we’re able to.

Under the current circumstances, online assessment and support is proving to be an effective alternative way to provide our life-changing support and one that’s enabling us to continue to bring fun and inclusion to many people like Benjamin, so please do get in touch if you think we can help.