Bella’s sparkling start to gaming
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025
Image above: Bella playing Princess Peach using a controller supported on an angled wedge.
Bella was new to gaming and eager to join her friends and family for some gaming adventures. Her cerebral palsy affects the accuracy of movements on her left side, making the joystick and buttons on one side of a standard controller tricky to use, so our specialist assessment team met with her and her mum in our Games Room to find out how we could best help her to play to the best of her abilities.
After chatting they decided that the Nintendo Switch had games she’d like to try, so they agreed to tackle Princess Peach Showtime together, one of the games she was finding tricky.
“At SpecialEffect we’re looking for safe and comfortable options,” said Nomi, one of our occupational therapists. “Although we tried a range of joysticks that Bella found easier to access with her left hand, she opted for a more simplified setup with a controller.”
Using the settings in the Nintendo the team swapped the left and right joysticks to enable Bella to control the character movement with her stronger side. To make it easier for her to reach some of the buttons, they mounted the controller at an angle using a small securely mounted wedge. Over the course of the session, she also started using her left hand to access some of the buttons when she was immersed in the game, which was encouraging to see.
“There were a few times when Bella found that her gaming reactions weren’t yet fast enough on her own, so we introduced another controller to copilot with her,” added Nomi. “Bella almost immediately dubbed it as ‘Daddy’s controller’ so he could help with the tricky parts!”
We’re delighted that Bella (and her dad!) will be able to access a wide range of games and ‘sparkle’ their way through Princess Peach Showtime together. Being on a level playing gaming field will made such a huge and positive difference for Bella, and we’ll be there for her if she needs our support in the future.
“Wonderful!” said her mother Gemma, who herself gave us so much fantastic support as a Fundraising Administrator. “Thank you so much Nomi, Frankie, Al and all the SpecialEffect family for bringing the magic of gaming to my little girl!”
Image above: Bella trying out a range of controllers as part of her visit.
We simply wouldn’t be able to help Bella without the support of our amazing friends in the global games industry and of course the many gamers, communities and individual donors who help fund our work and keep all our services and resources free of charge. Thank you – you’re truly making a life-changing difference!
You can support SpecialEffect now by signing up for One Special Walk, a unique 15 mile trek on Friday 3 October across the heart of London.