Alright so I know you are sick and tired as am I hearing a bad wrap from video games all the time.  Some say they promote violence, a bad attitude towards women and isolation from others.  The following story I am about to share from you was read on a very unlikely source a little magazine named Woman’s World where I get all my household tips along with savings and recipe info.

The story takes place in Clearwater Florida where a little preemie baby by the name of Gunnar Scharamek was born. By the age of nine months he amazingly started walking but shockingly enough when the age of 2 came around he still was not uttering a word. He had something called Pervasive Developmental Delay which is a severe form of Autism.  Gunnar was taken to speech therapy and thankfully by the age of 3 he started  to speak a few words such as mommy for the first time.

There was sadly not much improvement in his speech thereafter and he began to shut down and isolate himself  from his family, friends and the world. He would  through very disruptive tantrums so much so that he had to be held down by his parents.

One day at the age of six  Gunnar  proclaimed to his mom ” Gunnar want pet” so she thought it would be best to have him play an online game with virtual pets than a live one because of his volitile and violent nature. The game happened to be “Insaneaquarium from popcap.com.

Day to day he would play his game , feed his fish and the room was filled with his laughter and glee.  As the days passed Gunnar’s motor skills started to improve as well as his typing skills. He started to  even learn colors and shapes.  Popcap’s games were proven to  relieve stress and boost mood and are used for prescribed therapy if needed.

Fast forward to today Gunnar at the age of  ten plays video games for an hour every day after school his condition has improved so much in fact that he no longer is in need of attending special classes and he no longer has behavior problems and has  plenty of friends. Now he is ready to get a real pet his mother proclaimed. “Video games have given my son a better life!

This story really struck a cord with me because I used to teach children from age 1-6 and many of them used to have behavior and a mental disabilities on where they would act out and be disruptive in the class. Perhaps if video games were perceived as something beneficial it would help reach out to kids with disabilities and other issues as well as all kids.

Below are 4 examples on ways that video games can actually help you.

1.  They help you be more aware of your surroundings

Video Game players process visual information faster which is helpful when you are driving or watching your children for example

2.  They  can improve your memory

Strategic games  such as  Rise of Nations are shown to improve short term memory

3.  Keep you from getting distracted

Biofeedbackgames  like Wild Divine where players use a controller to manipulate on screen actions and though have been shown to help focus for those with ADD.

4. Stay Healthy AND keep in Shape

Games such as Dance Dance Revolution  and Will fit are designed to help children and adults alike move, jump ,run and skip around to shed pounds , have fun and live a healthy lifestyle

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