Survey of User Needs: eGaming and People with Disabilities

The convergence of several trends in recent years -- rapid growth of electronic gaming as both participatory sport and spectator sport in the US and globally, growing sophistication and increasing focus on accessibility by the game-making industry, and rapid social changes caused by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic -- requires better understanding of the landscape of electronic gaming for people with disabilities. This paper analyzes survey research data on participation in electronic gaming by people with disabilities to understand levels of participation and social[1]psychological effects. Convenience sampling was used to collect data via an online survey from 402 adults with various disabilities. Participants were recruited through the Consumer Advisory Network (CAN) and the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC), national networks of people with disabilities in the United States developed and maintained by researchers at Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Data show people with learning disabilities, anxiety and limited stamina play electronic games significantly more than those with other disabilities. Word games are the ones most played by each disability type, followed by role[1]playing, action and adventure games. Respondents play mostly alone and for fun and relaxation. Small percentages of respondents play e-games for building skills, exercise, learning or rehabilitation.