Video game therapy now on offer for disabled Taranaki kids – Stuff.co.nz

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Istvan Balogh has started a video game rehabilitation programme at Conductive Education Taranaki and Brody Williams-Jury, who has cerebral palsy, was one of the first to give it a go.

Video games are usually just for fun, but a Taranaki organisation has introduced them to help rehabilitate disabled children and adults.

Conductive Education Taranaki, a charity that offers physical therapy for children with neuromotor disorders, is now offering a programme called video game rehabilitation.

The therapy sees children, and adults, use a Wii console and its accessories to help an injured brain re-wire itself throughrepetitive movements, conductor Istvan Balogh, better known as Steven, said.

It's a little bit different than your game at home, Balough said. It's not just fun.

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The 18-year-old gave a number of games a try.

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Taranaki teen Brody Williams-Jury was one of the first to give it a go.

Williams-Jury has cerebral palsy and played a number of games that required him to think how to move his legs at certain times, which he admitted could be difficult.

Can you do better? Balogh asked the 18-year-old after his first game.

I can try, Williams-Jury said, with a smile on his face.

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Balogh records data from each session to compare at a later date.

Balogh, who is trained in psychology, teaching, anatomy, neurology and motor learning, said the rehabilitation requires regular visits as he stores the data from each session to compare.

But the multiple visits can bring out a competitive side of people, too.

It motivates young clients, especially teenagers, because theyre determined to beat their past scores.

Balogh said it was helpful for children who, like Williams-Jury, were born cerebral palsy, and his aim was to work with disabled teenagers before they leave high school.

Thats when they need the resources, physically and psychologically, to have the skills and confidence to find work and do things they enjoy.

However, Balogh said it could be useful for people who have had strokes, or have multiple sclerosis or Parkinsons.

Balogh gave the example of a woman in her sixties and had a brain injury from an accident.

When he first introduced the programme to her she hated it.

All people are different, Balogh said. But it turned out she gained a lot from this system.

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Video game therapy now on offer for disabled Taranaki kids - Stuff.co.nz