Game on – building skills without leaving home

BY TINA WILD, CPA

GAME ON >>>>> >>>

BUILDING SKILLS WITHOUT LEAVING HOME

Normally, parents worry about limiting their kids’ screen time – to ensure lifestyle balance and encourage active play and recreation. But with coronavirus creating a new normal, where parents are juggling working from home with keeping kids occupied, entertained, and homeschooled, the reality is that screen time will likely increase significantly and remain high for the foreseeable future.

While the negatives of gaming have been well documented, in the present climate of staying home and limiting physical contact, we thought you’d like to hear the glass-half-full approach and look at the benefits of gaming. We also recommend some great games that won’t make you feel bad about allocating screen time.

BENEFITS OF GAMING

According to Isabela Granic and her fellow researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands, recent media stories relating to the video game phenomenon largely ignore how video games have changed to become more complex, realistic, and social in nature. Researchers at Radboud University suggest newer interactive video games, developed in the last five years, provide young people with compelling social, cognitive, and emotional experiences, while also potentially boosting mental health and well-being. Here’s a snapshot of some of the key benefits:

Increase technology fluency Gaming helps introduce children to the language of technology. As our social and workplace interactions increasingly move to digital platforms, it’s essential for children to become digitally fluent in order to function successfully.

Play Children need play in order to learn, and research has shown it’s much easier to learn if they’re engaged and enjoying what they’re doing. There is no question that ordinary play can provide a wide range of benefits for young people. Granic and her co-researchers argue that playing interactive video games produces the same benefits. Not only do

video games allow players to interact in ways not possible with more passive forms of entertainment such as movies or television, they can also be played alone, with others, or in competition with other online players.

Creativity Kids are naturally creative. Gaming helps children to be curious and explore new environments, concepts and ideas online.

Social interaction Some games allow parents to play too, and many involve engaging with the global online community, playing in teams, testing out different social scenarios and forming new friendships.

Problem solving Social games can also teach kids to handle the kinds of problems and conflicts they might face in the real world. This allows children to develop social experiences that can be valuable as they mature. Themes such as power and dominance, aggression, pain, and separation can be rehearsed under non-threatening conditions. This allows children to learn to cooperate and accept their peers.

Resource management Games such as MinecraftTM help children to learn how to manage money and resources, an essential skill to learn as they mature.

Therapeutic application – cognition and movement Although gaming is seen as a largely sedentary activity, many games involve and encourage physical movement. In fact, for children and adults with physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy,

there are games specifically designed to make therapy fun, such as Lusio (detailed below).

Neuroplasticity – training the brain Researchers have demonstrated that just one hour spent playing video games has an effect on the brain. The research team found changes in brain activity and increased performance on tests of visual selective activity in subjects who had spent one hour playing the League of Legends video game. Their results are published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. “The potential therapeutic applications of gaming is massive! But in order to really leverage the motor and cognitive benefits, it’s key that games are selected and matched according to a person’s individual goal, at the right level of difficulty yet challenging enough to progress their skills… this is where I see our clinicians really come to the forefront when it comes to harnessing the therapeutic benefits of gaming,” says Natasha Langford, Therapy and Innovation Manager, CPA.

WHICH GAMES ARE SUITABLE?

The good news is gaming is affordable and there’s a lot of choice out there. To help parents navigate the minefield of options and decide which games are appropriate, positive, relevant and educational, here are some recommendations for various age groups:

Minecraft™ - building block game for children and adults

Both children and adults are easily captivated by the world of Minecraft™ – an open-world buildingblock game for PC and console. Minecraft™ has been rated for people ages seven and up by Pan

European Game Information (PEGI), and ages four and up for the iOS version. Minecraft™ is like discovering a limitless container of LEGO® blocks. The open sandbox format of this game makes absolutely anything possible. Avatars can collect resources by punching trees and digging up dirt. Eventually, these resources can be used in formulas to create other tools. Tools can be simple at first, including hammers, axes, and shovels, but as players gain enough resources they can build more complex tools, such as circuits, trains, and even houses. The many benefits for kids are well documented, including easy access, creativity, resource management, problem solving, geometry skills and community engagement. MinecraftEdu, an academic organisation bringing together educators and programmers, recommends the game to teachers because it is “easily adaptable to curriculum” with “sandbox play [that] allows for ANY kind of experience.”

Lego ® – creative play, learning and therapy for all ages

Lego ® is a great game to entertain and challenge kids of any age, with a range of benefits and skills that will travel with your child as they go through life. These small colourful blocks appeal to almost every individual, attracted by the idea of the endless possibility of building things. The emphasis on creativity is evident in LEGO ® fans being able to not only choose what they will play, but also how to play and which tools they will use during their playtime. It gives a sense of empowerment when the player has control over their imagination. Paediatric neuropsychologist, Daniel B. LeGof pioneered Lego ® Therapy, a social development program for children and teenagers with ASD or social communication difficulties. Through structured and shared play-based therapy, children learn to communicate with others and express their feelings, learn a variety of ways of relating to others, modify their behaviour and develop their problem-solving skills. Benefits and outcomes of Lego® Therapy include: • Improving social competence and social behaviour • Targeting various social skills: • Non-verbal communication (eye contact, body language) • Perspective taking • Negotiation • Conversation initiation • Joint attention (i.e. having a shared interest) • Verbal and physical turn taking and sharing • Collaboration • Targeting various types of language: • Verbal and non-verbal social communication • Describing • Active listening Joanna Grayson, Senior Speech and Language Pathologist, CPA Illawarra and Shoalhaven, comments:

“With the recent COVID-19 outbreak I am finding that Lego ® Therapy can easily be provided through telehealth with a clinician, the client and their parent or carer. With a little preparation and initial coaching around the rules and roles of Lego® Therapy, it is possible to build some great models and have lots of fun while targeting underlying core language and social skills. “The flexibility of Lego® Therapy means it can be stepped up or down depending on the child’s ability. Equally, once established, it is an activity that can be accessed time and time again with a range of different people including family members and friends either face-to-face or online. Lego® has a great website where building plans are easy to download, making construction of models simple,” says Joanna. David Putrino’s Tedx talks about the clinical outcomes achieved by patients when fun is intentionally included as part of their therapy program. LusioMATE was created by Lusio Rehab, in partnership with occupational therapists and physiotherapists, who are now able to monitor and prescribe goal-based exercises (Prescription Gaming™) to clients, either in person or via the unique Lusio dashboard. This gives LusioMATE fantastic flexibility to be used remotely, and it’s therefore ideally suited to these challenging times of self-isolation.

Lusio – Putting the fun and games in rehab

A challenge for almost anyone doing a program of rehabilitation is that it can get boring and hard to maintain focus on movement goals. US-based fellow Australian

Esports – interventions to include people with disability

Esports is a form of competition sports using video games, with some of its teenage competitors becoming more popular than professional athletes. Taking the form of organised, multiplayer competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams, there are now Esports tournaments all over the world. Participants battle it out to win massive cash prizes, with an audience estimated at over 385 million. This figure includes enthusiasts and occasional viewers who watch the tournaments, either streaming online or watching live. The primary audience for Esports is males aged 16-25. While there are approximately 147,000 males with disability in Australia in this age group, their rates of inclusion are significantly lower than able-bodied Esport athletes competing on the world stage. However, recent technology interventions are removing disabling barriers to make participation and inclusion possible. For example, Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller allows a link up to switches, tubes, sticks and buttons, accommodating users with a vast array of physical limitations, and enabling them to participate in Esports competitions. These interventions can be a real game-changer (pardon the pun) for people with a physical disability by providing the opportunity for inclusion in online sports and games. CPA are developing a range of gaming options for clients as part of their CPA@Home service, ensuring you stay supported, entertained and educated from the comfort of your own home. Chat to their team now on 1300 888 378 or visit www.cerebralpalsy.org.au to see how gaming could be beneficial for you or your child.

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CPA

From brain tumour to bike rides in Hawaii –Jett’s 12 month journey

Crystal and Peter are the proud parents of three active boys –Braxton (7), Jett (5) and Cruz (22 months). To look at them now they’re like any happy, busy family, yet twelve months ago their story was very different. Diagnosed with a brain tumour last year, five year-old Jett has battled chemotherapy and five brain surgeries, resulting in left side hemiplegia and third nerve palsy in his right eye.

“Jett was in a bad way, he was in a wheelchair, struggling to walk more than a metre or two, had severe left weakness and had lost all his fine motor skills,” says Crystal. Crystal and Peter were recommended to Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA) because of the organisation’s expertise with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions. The combination of this expertise, Jett’s resilience and adaptability, and the unwavering love and support of his entire family and community, have helped his recovery.

One of Jett’s first challenges to overcome through therapy was a significant motor impairment, caused by his brain tumour. He was having difficulty walking in a straight line and needed help walking over obstacles. Supported by CPA experts, Jett started to achieve his goals; improving the use of his left arm, hand and speech, and maintaining his health throughout his chemotherapy journey. Hydrotherapy proved to be an effective way of improving Jett’s cardiovascular fitness and strengthening of his left side. Speech therapy sessions addressed Jett’s difficulties with counting, using accurate speech

sounds, naming common objects, early literacy skills, and stuttering. Jett also presented with a slight facial droop on his right side which meant he had difficulty making an even smile and keeping his right eye open. Jett has thrived with one-on-one bimanual, play and goal-directed therapy. By working with his occupational therapist he significantly improved in left hand and arm coordination, which positively impacted his play, eating and self-care tasks. “Jett’s family have worked incredibly hard to implement his physio, speech and OT during a challenging time with many hospital admissions, chemotherapy sessions and trips to Sydney. It has been great to be able to continue to support his family through this time and ensure Jett gets the benefits of early intervention after his surgeries,” says Claire Smart, CPA physiotherapist. Just when the family thought they were getting back on track another challenge threatened to derail Jett’s progress: COVID-19. With social restrictions in place, the family were worried Jett would regress if he couldn’t continue therapy. They were relieved that CPA was providing their sessions via Telepractice (video). At first Crystal (Jett’s mum) was unsure how this would work, particularly physio, without physical contact. Crystal initial concerns were immediately alleviated after the first session: “Jett becomes very engaged in the Telepractice sessions, it’s almost as if it’s a normal physical session for him. It actually really surprised us. He’s taken to it like a duck to water and his therapists are able to get his attention and keep it for the whole duration.” “Jett’s goals remain the same as before the lockdown, we believe because of Telepractice these are still easily achievable. If he didn’t have Telepractice, Jett would have to miss out on physio, speech and OT for many months. This would be a massive detriment to his recovery.” Jett’s been so resilient - from initial diagnosis, chemo, surgeries, and adapting from hydrotherapy in person to Telepractice. His therapists have found creative solutions which Jett has embraced wholeheartedly. For example, Claire and Jett go on virtual bike rides to Hawaii and stop for ice cream! Crystal commented that Jett doesn’t see therapy as work - the bike riding, Simon Says and other activities are all fun games that he looks forward to. “Since moving to Telepractice, Jett has just continued to progress his strength and achieve his goals. Now he can walk upstairs and do ten laps of his house riding his bike, it is just outstanding,” says Claire. Twelve months after his final brain surgery, Jett's communication skills have significantly improved, as well as his ability to convey his needs. Jett now uses speech sounds accurately in longer words, names common objects, and attends to activities for longer. He also spontaneously uses both hands when playing and is more independent. “I no longer hear him say ‘I can’t’. The Jett I see today is a happier, more confident child compared to when I first met him. He is back to doing the things he loves, such as building Lego,” says Lauren Atkins, CPA occupational therapist. “Jett has come so far in the past twelve months. In addition to physical strength goals, he’s more confident, independent and motivated to challenge himself. We look forward to seeing all that Jett is going to achieve in the future!” Says Claire, CPA physiotherapist. Jett's speech therapy goals continue to target his stuttering and making an even smile, while his occupational therapy goals are focused on building skills to get ready for school. Crystal commented on how proud she is of Jett. He’s taken every setback in his stride, and despite being knocked around by chemo he’s still the same big-hearted, empathetic, happy-go-lucky boy. Nine days after his final brain surgery, on the way to his first CPA therapy session, Jett realised he only had one eye open. “He looked at me in the mirror and said “Oh mum, why do I only have one eye open.” I told him it was from his operation and that it may open one day but it doesn’t matter because he’s still the same strong, cheeky boy. He was completely unfazed by it,” says Crystal. “We’re so grateful to still have the Jett we know and love, humankind could benefit from Jett’s qualities and simple attitude to life,” says Crystal. CPA supports clients with a range of physical and neurological conditions. CPA@home provides expertise into your home, delivering evidencebased resources digitally, and funded through your NDIS plan. For a list of CPA services download our service catalogue today.

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