Growing up, my sister had K’NEX the building toy that allowed for what seemed like endless creative possibilities. I always seem to be fascinated by such building toys but often found them difficult to manipulate. I attribute this difficulty to dexterity in my hands. That being said, in my teens I was able to make daisy chain bracelets with beads that required a thread a needle. I think that came from sheer determination on my part.
I was thrilled when the simulation genre came to life!
I was introduced to simulation games for the computer in the mid-90s. My first introduction was SimCity 2000. I love this because it allowed me to creative expression that my sister and peers had grown accustomed to with building toys such as K’NEX. I liked that it was on the computer as it leveled the playing field. It didn’t matter, that I couldn’t manipulate my hands to effectively snap pieces together into some recognizable shape as outlined by the instructions. SimCity meant that all I had to do was be able to manipulate a mouse, and that I could do! My fascination and endless love of such games carried over to the Sims franchise. I like this style of game because it doesn’t matter about my physical abilities I can manipulate a computer so therefore I can participate in the same way as everyone else, and this was important for me and to me.
Anyone with cerebral palsy that you know, or you yourself struggle with manipulating small things such as toys when you were a child? What adaptations to toys need to be made for your child? Is there anytthing you physically find a challenge to manipulate?
Technorati Tags: Disability, K'Nex, Physical Disability, SimCity, SimCity 2000, Sims, Simulation game, Toy, Toys and Games
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