A Bolton-based charity that has developed an online gaming and creative play server for young people with autism and similar conditions is celebrating after receiving almost £10,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund.

Think Cre8tive Group CIC is one of 19 organisations in Bolton, working within communities, to receive a share of over £500,000 in funding from the lottery.

As a mum of two autistic children, director of the organisation, Melanie Cossins, noticed the effect the pandemic was having on their mental health, and in particular their sudden lack of social interaction.

Minecraft – a video game in which players create various kinds of blocks in three-dimensional worlds - is a special interest for both of Melanie’s children, so together with her teenage daughter they decided to create a Minecraft server for children to form new friendships.

The mother-daughter duo devised activities that young people could play individually, in pairs, teams and groups and invited a few children to join.

Friendships started forming, to the point that many of the children still play together online over two years later.

The Minecraft server is enabling neurodivergent children to thrive in an environment that they are passionate about. It helps to build understanding of others' difficulties, as well as building strong relationships between neurodivergent and neurotypical young people through interaction and play.

Many neurodivergent children struggle with being understood, communicating with others, and not having control, along with having difficulties with resilience, sensory issues, confidence and self-esteem. The project aims to develop these skills and offer individuals the chance to deliver tutorials on parts of the game they are stronger at.

One mother of a child who has been taking part in the project said: “Minecraft Funtime games has made a huge difference to my son.

"He’s 11 and has learning difficulties and other problems. He has never had a place where he fits in. He has found this in the server. Admins have been great with him. He has made friends that he never had in school. He looks forward to going on every day and loves chatting on Discord. He had anxiety problems before joining the server and not much confidence he is now a lot better within himself.”

Melanie said: “With the National Lottery Funding we are now able to explore new events on our server so we can include more of what children want and when they want it. The pandemic has seen a rise in anxiety levels in children and thanks to National Lottery players we can continue giving them skills to enable them to feel valued, safe and confident in the world.”

Gillian Halliwell, head of regional funding for the North West at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players and the hard work and dedication of local projects, like the Think Cre8tive Group CIC, this funding will make a big difference to people’s lives in Bolton. We’re delighted that our funding is being used to strengthen communities and provide people with the tools and support they need to prosper and thrive.”