Late last year we were contacted by Karen asking whether we could make a Dream-Gamer that would be suitable for her son Scott. After some discussion we produced a switch adapted controller that we thought would work.

These are Karen's comments:

It was approaching Xmas, and yet again I was finding it difficult to think of gifts for my son Scott who is 10 and has Cerebral Palsy. I wanted a TV interactive game - something that he could have fun with and use as independently as possible. Most of the games on the market had simple controls aimed at much younger children. His friends his age have PlayStations.  I thought about it a lot, how wonderful it would be for Scott to be able to operate a PlayStation just like his friends, but never considered he would be able to, as the controls require good hand functionality and control.  That's when I was thrilled to come across the Dream-Gamer Web Site and was inspired by the story of another young boy like Scott, who had similar disabilities, but through a brilliant piece of equipment had been given access to independently play on a PlayStation.

I contacted Mike, explained Scott's disabilities and that Scott could use switches but would have difficulty with the existing adapted controller, due to the joy stick.  After lots of consultations with me to ensure that he had all the facts, Mike suggested that they would work on putting together a new adapted controller which would operate the PlayStation purely through switches.  Mike has the patience of a 'Saint' and was very kind and trusting to send me the equipment to trial.

Scott was thrilled on Xmas morning to receive a PlayStation especially adapted by "Father Xmas". He has five different colour switches on a switchboard that control different functions e.g. ‘forward’, ‘back’, ‘left’, ‘right’ and ‘enter/select’.  There is capacity for another one to operate ‘start’.

We started with a simple Bob the Builder game to break him into it, not wanting him to get frustrated if he could not operate the games successfully straight away.  He still enjoys this game and he now has others, including a Lightning McQueen racing game, where he loves to crash the car.  He is finding it difficult to understand the concept of some of the games but I am sure that will come with time and experience.  The main thing is that Scott is having fun, he is operating the PlayStation independently and he is doing what his all his friends do. He is getting a right little show off when his friends call around to play with him.

This equipment has given Scott access to play in a way that I never thought he could.  We are all very grateful to Mark and Mike for working with us to make this possible.

Scott, Karen & Kevin Turner

Feel free to contact us if you would like to know more about Dream-Gamer switch adapted PlayStation controllers.

Mike

I can't explain how or why but I'd forgotten to list the two Domino IR remotes on the Dream-Racer web site. (a little voice is whispering in my ear two words "senior" and "moment" but that can't be right.)

As a recap, Domino is a large button, switch adapted, programmable infra-red remote that can control a wide range of TVs, DVD players, toys and environmental control systems. In fact, practically anything that uses infra-red to switch it.

The control codes for four separate devices can be stored in Domino-IR at any one time. For instance, a TV, DVD, ceiling fan and room light system could be assigned to the four yellow buttons. And, for each yellow button/appliance up to six commands stored on the white buttons. Making, in total, 24 control commands on the Domino-IR remote.

Domino-EPG is set-up to work with the on-screen "electronic programme guide" (EPG) menu system used on modern TVs and satellite receivers to select the programme you want to watch.

We normally pre-set Domino-EPG to work with a SKY satellite receiver but it can easily be re-programmed by the user if they need it for their Freeview receiver.

The yellow buttons on Domino-EPG move the on-screen cursor up, down, left or right to highlight the programme. Pressing the blue button selects the programme in the same way a non-adapted remote works.

The white buttons are used to control the satellite receiver - such as switching it on or off.

As standard, we make both Domino-IR and Domino-EPG switch adapted so that each Domino button can be accessed using a standard switch; like the two shown in the top picture.

Mike