Tennis Anyone? Wii, Wii.

When Nintendo unveiled its fifth-generation home video game console — the Wii (pronounced we) — in 2006, the company explained that its whimsical name was intended to underscore that the product is for everyone. That has certainly been the case at NYU’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, which received its first Wii as a gift earlier this year. With its addictive array of games and technological wizardry that detects movement in three dimensions, it not only provides a welcome distraction for those consigned to endless hours of therapy, often in a wheelchair, but a valuable rehab tool as well.

“With the Wii,” says Senior Recreation Therapist Lisa DelGuidice, “we can persuade patients to do something that’s good for them much easier. With other therapies they are driven by performance, but here there’s no performance anxiety.” DelGuidice and her colleagues have also found that little kids often play as well or better than older ones. “The self-esteem that gives to a child is huge,” she says. “It takes away the barriers.” The Wii’s motion-sensitive remote controller helps patients improve their balance, endurance, hand-eye coordination, range of motion, muscle strength, and cognitive skills. This makes it ideal for those grappling with the challenges of cerebral palsy, head trauma, strokes, MS, and seizure disorders. Adhiambo Mitchell, 32, who lost both legs after a car accident in April, says that the Wii kept him from getting depressed. “It totally took my mind off being in a wheelchair,” he explains. “I used to box, and here I am in a wheelchair, standing up, boxing. The Wii will throw you right off. It makes you think you’ve got your legs again.”

Originally published in News & Views, July/August 2008