E-sports create inclusive communities for children and young adults with Cerebral Palsy

Gaming has a unique function in building friendships and developing skills, particularly for children and young adults with Cerebral Palsy (CP). It gives them the opportunity to participate in a community on equal terms with their peers.

Eight boys are gathered, sitting in a horseshoe configuration. The horseshoe isn’t only a symbol of luck - today it’s a framework for the activity the boys are immersed in – gaming. What unites them is their love for gaming, and the fact that each of them are having Cerebral Palsy and facing different motor and cognitive challenges.

Three of the boys are in wheelchairs, one is non-verbal, and the others need extra assistance to play sports due to their physical limitations. Despite facing difficulties in their daily activities and other sports due to their motor challenges, this situation is unique. Everyone can participate on equal terms.

"E-sport is one of the activities we offer for kids with Cerebral Palsy who are functioning at many different levels. It has the unique quality of being able to accommodate everyone. E-sport requires concentration, communication and precision, and children learn to collaborate with each other as equals in the game," said Rasmus Hjorth Lund, who develops activities in the Elsass Foundation’s Team Sports & Recreation.

Egmont ‘folk high school’ (højskole) hosts an e-sports camp organized by the Elsass Foundation that lasts for four days. The camp is for children and young adults with Cerebral Palsy and their parents. They eat together, spend the night, and participate in group activities.

Children and young adults make friends and build courage

At the camp, computers are lined up and flashing in all the colors of the rainbow. Two boys use wheelchairs, three other boys sit next to them, all engrossed in their computers, including 14-year-old Kristoffer Kamper.

"It's a really nice place to be. I've made a lot of friends here, in fact I have a couple of friends here today - Tjalfe and Gustav," says Kristoffer. Kristoffer is accompanied by his father. It's the third time he has been to the Elsass Foundation’s e-sports camp.

"Some kids using wheelchairs come to the camp and I think that's really good. It’s inspiring to see how they play in different ways. I play with one hand because the other one is paralyzed," explains Kristoffer, adding enthusiastically: "I've met kids here at the camp who can't walk, but can play using eye movements, and are already doing great playing Counter-Strike."

Ten-year-old Alf Jacobsen is also among the participants and is attending the camp for the first time. He uses a wheelchair or walker and is non-verbal.

"It surprised me that I can play Counter-Strike - I've improved. It's a completely new game for me, and I've discovered I can easily join in and play with the others. There's actually nothing here at the camp that's been really difficult," said Alf through his speech computer.

Inclusive technological solutions

The technological elements of the game are set up in a way that takes into account participants’ individual physical and cognitive needs. Mikkel Damgaard Justiniano develops welfare technology at the Elsass Foundation and is responsible for the technical tasks at the camp, in collaboration with his colleagues.

"The eye-tracking technology lets you control the game with eye movements if you don't have mobility in your body, or you could use a mouse with extra buttons or a pedal to aim and shoot" explains Justiniano.

The association Para E-sport Denmark develops gaming solutions for people with different functional capacities, which are utilized at the e-sports camp. Alf uses eye-tracking technology to control the game, and Kristoffer uses a specialized mouse to compensate for the reduced function in his left arm.

"It's about using other parts of the body to compensate for the parts that don't have full function. There are many other solutions beyond traditional mouse and keyboard setups. Participants can practice finding and hitting the buttons, and we’re there to help them get their equipment working," said Justiniano.

Mikkel Damgaard Justiniano and Alf Jacobsen.

A lot is at stake for the boys, but the mood is calm. Parents get involved only when the boys reach out for help and wait comfortably on the sofas in the neighboring room. The conversation turns to what the parents think e-sports can offer. Several of them have brought their children to other Elsass Foundation camps before. They’re all in agreement that there’s something unique about what e-sports can do for their kids.

"In e-sports, all of the boys are equal. It doesn't matter if they're using a wheelchair or can only use one arm - they can participate in their own way. If it were football, things would be different. Through e-sports they can come together in a different way," says Kristoffer’s father Svenne Kamper and adds: "They make a lot of friends, E-sports allows you to hang out and chat afterwards, no matter where you are in the world."

Parents are on the sidelines

Outside the walls of the gaming room, the trees are rustling and the waves are foaming. Tonight, winter bathing and sauna sessions await the parents.

It can be challenging both to jump in the cold waves and to leave the children for so many hours in front of the computer. The e-sports camp is also an opportunity for parents to take a break from everyday life and talk to other parents of children with Cerebral Palsy.

"I've been excited to see how things would go, and it's gone really well. Alf is having a great time. It's actually pretty cool for Alf that he can spend some time away from us. At the Elsass Foundation’s family camps, we do everything together. This e-games camp is different for me as a parent – I can go for a walk while Alf is playing," said Camilla Poulsen, Alf's mother.

At the camp, the boys play e-games for far more hours than they are used to at home. Both parents and the boys agree that the organized framework is what makes it possible for them to play for so long without the risk of overstimulation, which would easily happen at home.

"I get tired, but not as tired as those using wheelchairs. I feel drained mentally, but I have water if I get thirsty. We take a fruit break, so we can eat something while we play. We can also walk around and chat with the others," says Kristoffer.

Physical activity is also important

Apart from gaming, the camp also offers other activities. Participants can go swimming, play in the gym, and participate in functional training. Kristoffer sees the benefit in these activities.

"You also need to remember to be physically active at this camp, so it's not all about gaming. The physical activity actually makes me better at gaming. It gives me something different than the activities in my everyday life and spending time with my dad," says Kristoffer.

Gaming is also not nearly as exhausting at the camp as it can be at home.

"The atmosphere here at the camp is better. At home (online), there are too many players who have no control over what they say," says Kristoffer.

Being part of a community

Although all the boys at the camp have Cerebral Palsy, there’s still a big difference in their physical and mental abilities, which affects how easy it is to make friends.

"E-sport has a special quality because they can make friends. When children have these kinds of difficult physical challenges, social activities can be really demanding. They often end up just sitting quietly at a table with the adults while they talk," said Camilla Poulsen, Alf's mother.

Alf has the ambition to use this opportunity to engage more in online social communities.

"I plan to play with some of the new friends I've gotten to know here at the camp when I get home - August and Oscar. I want to be a member of the Counter-Strike club," says Alf.