Young clients of the Chilliwack Hospice Society have been opening up more about their grief ever since a new video game system has been made available to them.
Thanks to a community grant from the Chilliwack Foundation, the society was able to expand its grief support program for neurodiverse children and youth by purchasing a Nintendo Switch system and TV to use during counselling sessions.
“It just looks like play, it just looks like we’re goofing off, but that’s their language. That’s how kids learn,” said child and youth program manager Franceska Hills. “That’s how a lot of grown ups still learn, too. That’s my favourite way to learn when I’m having fun and I retain it more.”
Over the last several years, the number of child and youth clients with a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurodevelopmental disorders has steadily increased at the society.
Hills got the idea from a society on the island that was meeting clients online via a gaming platform. She thought it was “out-of-the-box and different,” she said.
“That’s what kids need, they need something different because when kids grieve it’s entirely different than when adults grieve.”
By offering in-person grief support services through video gaming, children who might otherwise feel self-conscious, apprehensive, and isolated can access support in a familiar, low-barrier way tailored to their interests. Many kids play video games at home and with their friends, so this new setup for the Chilliwack Hospice Society brings something familiar into a space that is often uncomfortable.
Hills will sit down with the child one-on-one and play video games with them. She said gaming takes a lot of pressure off a child because eye contact can be really aggressive for some kids, especially if they are neurodivergent.
“I’m always trying to rebalance it and give a kiddo an advantage,” she said. “I am not proficient at gaming, so it gives them the upper hand. Even when I’m trying my hardest, they still beat me.”
Through games like Minecraft, children who typically find it uncomfortable and challenging to interact with others, can navigate a video game world and feel knowledgeable, successful, and in control.
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When people are working with a counsellor there’s often a “power dynamic” and it can be even greater for kids, Hills added.
“It gets kids away from that old, stuffy image of therapy where you sit across from the therapist and you stare at each other while you have these hard conversations. But, when we’re playing games we’re sitting side-by-side and we’re focusing straight ahead.”
The society received the grant last year and purchased the equipment in the fall, which also included a shelving unit with bins, beanbag chairs, and a wobble stool for children who fidget.
“We’re giving them the language to actually describe how they’re feeling, and we’re giving them coping skills to take with them,” Hills said. “Even sitting here playing with the kiddo side-by-side I’ve had a lot of kids pipe up and say ‘You know, I used to do this with my person, and they’re gone now and I don’t have anybody to play with.’ It’s not the same, but it gives them that little memory.”
To learn more about the child and youth program at Chilliwack Hospice Society or to make a donation, call 604-795-4660 or visit chilliwackhospice.org
Chilliwack Hospice Society is a community-based organization that helps individuals and families dealing with dying and death through support, education, and programs that promote wellness and healthy grieving. They provide free, low-barrier grief support services through a variety of programs for children and youth. Individual needs are accommodated through one-to-one support, community outreach, in-school support, group support, family activities, and equine connections.
