Accessible Play · Helper Guide
One page for helpers and teachers. The player never needs to read anything.
Quick start, three steps
- Open the app. It runs in the browser on any computer, Chromebook, or tablet with a webcam. Nothing to install.
- Pick how this person plays. The first screen asks one question: How do you play? Choose the card that matches how the player moves best. If a camera method is chosen, allow camera access when the browser asks.
- That is the whole game. Every action the player makes creates a warm musical note and a gentle bloom of light. There is no way to lose and no wrong answer.
Choosing an access method
| Card | Pick it when | What counts as playing |
|---|---|---|
| 👆 Touch | The player can touch a screen anywhere, with any part of the hand or a stylus | Any tap anywhere on the screen |
| 🔘 Switch | The player uses an assistive switch, or can press one big button | Any switch press, the Space or Enter key, or a tap anywhere on the screen |
| 🙂 Head | The player has head movement but limited hand use | Head movement seen by the webcam |
| 👁️ Eyes | The player moves mainly their eyes | Eye and small face movement seen by the webcam |
| 🌊 Any motion | Any movement at all should make music, including whole body movement or dance | Anything that moves in the camera view |
Switch users: the app works with any switch that acts as Space, Enter, or a mouse click, which is how nearly all switch interfaces work. The entire screen is the target, so positioning does not need to be precise. Holding the switch down counts as one press, not many.
Eyes and Head: when you choose Eyes, a short look-at-the-dots calibration runs first (about 20 seconds, just follow the glowing dot). After that a soft light follows the player's gaze, and resting the gaze on a spot makes music there. Head works the same way after a quick centering. If aim drifts during a session, tap the 🎯 button in the top right to calibrate again. Even lighting on the face and a fairly still head give the best aim. If the camera or tracking is not available, the app quietly switches to Any motion so the session still works.
Three play modes with increasing interaction complexity
Pick a mode in Setup. Every mode works with every access method (touch, switch, head, eyes, motion), so the same tool fits however the player plays.
| Mode | What happens | Interaction used in this mode |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Cause & Effect | Any action makes a sound and a bloom of light | I did something, and something happened. The foundation. |
| 2 · Targets | A glowing target appears; reach it, look at it, or press to make it sing, then it moves | Aiming, reaching, and timing |
| 3 · Make Music | The screen becomes an instrument: where you touch or look sets the note, so movement plays a melody (a switch steps through the tune) | Creating and controlling, real music-making |
Choosing a mode: most players start on Cause & Effect. You may choose a different mode when the player seems comfortable with the current interaction. These modes do not measure or assess ability, development, learning, or clinical progress. They are simply three ways to play.
Settings (the ⚙️ Setup button)
- Level: Cause & Effect, Targets, or Make Music (see above).
- Sound: 11 instruments grouped in three families (Essentials, Orchestra, Nature). Tapping a sound previews it. All included.
- Visual: 10 calm light styles (Bloom, Ripples, Starlight, Aurora, Orbs, Fireflies, Silk, Petals, Comets, Lanterns). All included.
- Feel: Calm is slow and soft, the default. Lively is quicker and brighter.
- Volume: start low and raise slowly, especially with headphones or sound sensitivity.
- Camera sensitivity: only matters for Head, Eyes, and Any motion. Higher means smaller movements make sound. If notes fire on their own, lower it. If the player works hard and nothing happens, raise it.
Settings save automatically on the device, so the next session starts ready.
Running a session
- Celebrate the first sound. The whole point is: I did something, and something happened.
- Follow the player's pace. Silence is fine; the app never rushes or prompts.
- The 🏠 Home button must be held down for about a second to leave, so a stray press never ends the session by accident.
- Stop when the player shows they are done, and stop right away if you see discomfort, dizziness, or distress. See Safety & legal inside the app for the full photosensitivity note.
Privacy, in one line
During an Accessible Play session, camera processing stays on the device and there is no microphone: no play data is sent to us, there are no student accounts, and there is no behavioral tracking. One thing can save to the device itself, and only when a student chooses it: the Rec button saves a clip of the screen and sound to the device's downloads. To remove it, delete the downloaded clip from the device (clearing site data does not remove downloaded files), and no photo or camera image is ever stored. Full policy: privacy page.
Accessible Play is a recreational, creative activity. It is not a medical device, does not diagnose, treat, or improve any condition, and provides no health benefit.