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Game On!
Games and play are occupational therapy.

Not a metaphor, a definition. Play and leisure are named occupation domains in the profession's own framework. The Rehab Arcade is where clinicians learn the method, games get certified for therapeutic use, and families find trustworthy guidance.

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The craft, in one picture

Every piece of an adaptive setup has a therapeutic job.

A player seen from behind runs a racing game on a large screen, one hand on a mounted adaptive controller — a console with a joystick and large coloured buttons, held on an articulating arm at the table in front of them.
Accessible buttons. Oversized, low-force buttons. The large target drops the precision and pressure a press demands, so a gross-motor movement can carry the action you are grading for.
Joystick. Sized and placed for the movement the player controls best — steering, aiming, or navigating without a standard thumbstick.
Adaptive controller. The hub that ties it together. External buttons, switches, and joysticks plug into its ports and map to any in-game action.
Mounting arm. An articulating mount holds each control exactly where the player has reliable, repeatable movement — the setup meets the body, not the other way round.
A mainstream game. A standard, off-the-shelf title — the same game everyone else plays. Real leisure is the therapeutic point, not a clinical stand-in for it.
Built around his movements. Every piece is chosen around the movements he already has. Nothing here asks him to move differently in order to play.

Hover, tap, or tab through the setup to see what each piece does in therapy.

Explore the free accessibility guides →

For Clinicians

The method, the training, and an evidence library you can cite with confidence.

The method →

For Facilities

Bring an adaptive gaming program to your hospital, clinic, or SNF: workshops, consultation, program design.

Programs for facilities →

For Families

"My father had a stroke. What can he play, and with whom?" Plain-language guidance and a path to a licensed OT.

Guidance for families →

High scores, from the literature

190 randomized trials in the 2025 Cochrane review of gaming for stroke rehab 7,188 participants across those trials 0.42 SMD moderate-certainty upper-limb benefit when gaming is added to usual care 9 occupation domains in OTPF-4, including play and leisure

Every number links to its primary source.

Backed by research

Games extend the dose of skilled therapy.

In the 2025 Cochrane review of VR & interactive gaming for stroke rehabilitation (190 RCTs, 7,188 participants), gaming added to usual care probably improves upper-limb function with moderate certainty (SMD 0.42): more of the right practice, in a form clients enjoy.

Cochrane CD008349.pub5 (Laver et al., 2025) ↗  ·  Read our evidence library →

Led by an occupational therapist

Dr. Erik Johnson

The Rehab Arcade grew from years of collaborative work led by occupational therapist Dr. Erik Johnson, with contributions from OTs and OT doctoral candidates across the U.S.

Meet the team →