Jesse Cross has a knack for coding, but it’s not just a past-time or a hobby, it’s a profession.
Key points:
- Jesse Cross and his brothers play online games through a disability service provider
- He teaches coding to other people with disabilities
- He has a growing waiting list for more classes
Jesse, 17, is a year 12 student in the regional South Australian town of Berri. He has a dog named Sookie, and his favourite Pokemon is Charizard.
He and his two brothers have autism, and together they have a passion for gaming.
“I’ve always loved video games, I believe I started gaming when I was like five or six,” Jesse said.
“I tend to lean more into creative games nowadays, like building games.”
Jesse says his family gave him confidence to believe in his skills (L-R: Peter, Jesse, Sookie, Zach, Alexander, Tegan).(ABC News: Sophie Landau)
Cracking the code
Jesse’s mum Tegan said it was a struggle to find a disability service provider in her regional area that would help the boys grow and achieve their goals.
She came across Minds at Play, which provided tailored online gaming sessions for people with disabilities to play together, fostering communication and social interaction skills.
Jesse’s eldest brother Zach plays Dungeons and Dragons, while youngest Alexander plays Minecraft.
But neither of the games satisfied Jesse’s creative knack for coding.
“After a few weeks of these two knuckleheads having fun in their rooms, I thought ‘I wish I could do something, all I can do is code a game’,” Jesse said.
He asked Minds at Play if they offered a coding session, but first Jesse had to teach them how it worked.
Jesse was eventually asked if he could teach the class, which his mum said was a “mind-blowing” moment.
He was asked to run three sessions over the school holidays, with his first class selling out in less than two minutes.
Jesse met online with Minds at Play staff members to prepare for his coding sessions.(Supplied: National Disability Insurance Agency)
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