“I didn't think this would be possible! I can game and I have had a chance to play against someone on the internet. What a feeling!” -Kody
Kody R of Ancaster, Ontario, CA was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Kody came to AbleGamers on a quest to game and he was determined to find a comfortable and effective setup. Kody met with AbleGamers peer counselor, Aaron through virtual meetings and kept up through emails throughout the process of getting Kody where he wanted to be.
Kody researched and brought his findings to the sessions along with doing his homework on Aaron’s suggestions which showed how committed he was to gaming. Many different options were tested, the first being an Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) setup. Within a few weeks, that setup seemed to be helping a lot with his gaming. He told Aaron, “I have been using the alt controller with great success. It works well. I have been playing Yu-gi-oh Legacy of the duelist Link evolution since I got my laptop. Well, I have beat the game! Mom is calling me a champion!!”
Even though Kody was gaming better, he still was extremely limited in what he could play. AbleGamers decided to purchase a Tobi Eye Tracker for him, a device that tracks the movement of the user’s eyes and translates it to the game. Kody was ecstatic and tracked the package every day, eagerly awaiting its arrival.
Once it arrived, he got to work learning how to use his new eye tracker, comparing it to a dragon that needed taming. He said “I have had a great time taming my dragon, my eye tracker! What a tremendous piece of equipment. It is totally amazing what you can do with it. I have opened emails, scrolled, deleted, and sent them. I have used it in gameplay along with the alt controller. Wow, does it ever make it easier to play, it is nice not having my hands tired. Aaron, I have to admit, there have been some challenging times, but, I have worked through them and am really enjoying it.”
We are so happy to have helped Kody along the way and glad that in the end, he was finally able to tame the dragon and ride it into the gaming world.
