E-Access Bulletin Live

A gaming charity has begun giving out ‘Expansion Packs’ containing assistive technology and video games to specialist care homes and organisations working with individuals with disabilities around the United States.

The AbleGamers Foundation gives video game fans with disabilities the chance to play games and connect with others, through what it claims is the largest community for gamers with disabilities in the world. The Expansion Packs project is a way of providing games and assistive equipment on a larger scale, says the charity.

Launched in 2004, AbleGamers has been working with large companies from the gaming industry (including Electronic Arts and SteelSeries) to create the packs for distribution across the US. The packs will be tailored to suit the needs of individuals at each organisation, and AbleGamers will train staff at each location to set up the gaming equipment and assistive technology. A ‘troubleshooting’ service will also be offered to solve any issues after the set-up.

The first Expansion Pack was given to Pediatric Speciality Care in Pennsylvania, which offers long-term care for children with disabilities. The second pack will be given to a centre in Boston.

AbleGamers also offers resources and advice. The charity has produced guidelines for developers on designing accessible video games, and it also supplies assistive technology grants for gamers with disabilities. An upcoming portal on the AbleGamers website will provide informatino for those caring for someone with a disability, advising on suitable games and the assistive technology needed to play them.

Read more about the AbleGamers Foundation at the following link: bit.ly/1SVI5YS .

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2016 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Games, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.