Gaming in Physical Liberation: Three Case Studies

John Eulenberg and Chelsea Marks

Abstract

This paper looks at three nonspeaking individuals who are using games to develop skills needed for the operation of augmentative communication devices. Each person has severe physical and/or cognitive limitations which have restricted the mode of input which he or she has been able to use in a practical way. The therapy team for each person has introduced a game that challenges that user to use a hitherto untapped input modality.

In the first case study, a game with stimulating reinforcement serves to awaken a minimal response in the user that may lead to a practical scanning device. In the second case, a person already using a scanning system is now mastering direct selection techniques using movements he never before tapped in a systematic way for communication. The third individual has been restricted to single-switch scanning for over a decade. He is now playing a game using his foot and toe movement to create coded patterns. This is seen as leading to a more efficient way for him to operate systems for communication and environmental control.

In all three cases, gaming is called upon to facilitate a transition toward more efficient control and greater personal freedom.