Getting to Know Caitlin: A Chat with Our Director

If you've been curious about the people behind Gamely Connect, we thought it was time to introduce you to Caitlin, our director who joined us when ownership changed hands earlier this year.

Caitlin spends her time mostly behind the scenes: juggling spreadsheets, staff support, managing finances and jumping into our sessions when she can. With a background that spans from hands-on support work to managing restaurants, she's now taken on the challenge of running a gaming-focused disability service - and loving every minute of it.

We caught up with Caitlin to chat about her journey so far, her favourite types of games, and how she's working alongside our team to keep Gamely Connect a place where neurodiverse gamers can just be themselves.

What brought you to support work?

When I was 18, I moved to London for a working holiday. One of my friends got me a job working in a SEN school that focused primarily on autism. I spent 2 years there filling in for the staff who were on long service leave, and during this time, I got to work in every class in the school. This was my first experience working in disability, and I immediately fell in love with support work. Since then, I have traveled more and worked in the disability branch of the Whistler Ski School (the most amazing experience), in SIL’s houses, and in community access.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I wake up and jump straight onto the laptop with my coffee. I mostly work from home (or a café), but some days I'm lucky enough to make it into Gamely or do 1:1 support work. In the evenings, you'll catch me going for a run or playing trivia at the pub.

Console, PC, or tabletop - what's your preferred gaming platform and why?

I’m a tabletop girl - especially social deduction games like one night a werewolf and chameleon, and party games like wavelength and monikers. I’m always down for a game that gets everyone debating and laughing, and it’s always fun to see how other people think.

What skills from gaming translate into real-world benefits for our participants?

There are too many to count! Firstly, gaming improves things like fine motor skills and decision making. Some of my favourite benefits are the social skills and teamwork skills that it can foster. Players have to follow instructions and are also given a safe place to learn how to interact in sometimes challenging scenarios under the safety of a character. Getting to debate and collaborate with someone in D&D for example provides a safe place for people to interact with less social consequence - as they are speaking on behalf of the character and not themself. This can be a great stepping stone to building the confidence to interact with people in their day to day life.

Co-op or competitive gaming - which brings out the best in you?

I love a co-op! I think it’s so fun to get to work as a team and collaborate together to solve a puzzle or complete a mission.

I'm currently playing It Takes Two on the Switch - and I'm honestly not sure I could have made it past the elephant scene without a teammate for emotional support!

What makes Gamely Connect different from other support services you've experienced?

Our staff! The team are second to none, they all care SO deeply about the participants and they love coming to work. They’re all gamers themselves, so they are also able to connect with the participants in a truly special way through all of their shared interests. It creates this amazing community where everyone in that room gets each other.