Our Initiatives
Current INITIATIVES
Can I Play That?
Founded in 2018 by Susan Banks and Coty Craven, Can I Play That? has been and continues to be a premier source for perspectives on accessibility and inclusion in videogames and the broader tech industry. In 2022, AbilityPoints acquired Can I Play That? and merged it with Dagersystem to create an all-inclusive one-stop shop for disabled consumers and their support systems who wanted to know what games were accessible for them. Can I Play That? is recognized across the industry for it’s clear, compassionate journalism that protects consumers while educating developers with respect and empathy.
AbilityPoints uses Can I Play That? as a training ground for disabled professionals looking to develop their communication skills as they work towards a career in a variety of fields including journalism, marketing, and communications. Currently, we employ a one-on-one mentoring style that helps our editors become familiar with the editorial process as they learn how to advocate for their needs and structure their work-life balance to accommodate their disability.
Mentoring
Mentoring disabled professionals through 1-on-1, hands-on mentoring and training helping them develop their professional skills. Eventually, we will offer webinars and video series to supplement, but mentoring will always be a key tool we use.
FUTURE INITIATIVES
The Accessible Games Database
The AGD was the original vision of AbilityPoints founder Josh Straub. The goal was to create a searchable database where games could be filtered by accessibility features to make it easier for consumers to determine the accessibility of certain games prior to purchase. In 2020, we launched the prototype to much fanfare industry wide. Currently, the AGD is still under construction. We needed to pause development throughout the latter half of 2021 and 2022 while we acquired and stabilized Can I Play That?. Moving forward, the AGD will be one of our premier employment initiatives. When it is fully launched, it will be staffed and maintained completely by profoundly disabled individuals who are learning marketable skills like web development, database management, and web accessibility.
AbilityPoints Job Board
This is a place for our corporate partners to advertise jobs and positions waiting to be filled by disabled employees. The job board will be housed on AbilityPoints.com, and as new positions are posted, a running list of these positions will be updated on Can I Play That?. Launching Q4 2023
AbilityPoints Employer Training Suite
We are currently researching ways to educate employers on how to meet the needs of disabled employees in a series of on-demand webinars and conferences, with the goal being supporting employers as they try to diversify their work forces.
JOIN US IN OUR INITIATIVES!
People with severe disabilities seek employment at a quarter of the rate of others often because of a lack of work experience, and limited opportunities to gain basic work skills in professional environments.
HELP US as we meet these needs by supporting the training of disabled people and by training companies how to best interface with this massively under-tapped workforce. There are many ways to partner with AbilityPoints, just email Josh at dagersystem@gmail.com
AbilityPoints has the following needs that we are asking our partners to meet, if not in cash, then in kind.
- Web/Graphic Design Services for our new website
- Video Editing/Production Services for our AbilityPoints Stories[WT] program.
- Social Media Amplification to help spread the word about the new name and the new focus.
- A partner to join with us and HumbleBundle for an accessible games bundle released after the rebrand.
- AND we would love to hear creative ideas from our partners!
