About AJ
Who is AJ?
A wonky body, and a passion for gaming.
AJ Le Brun got into gaming in a big way in 2017, but it wasn't until 2019 that she was brave enough to start attending events and conventions.
AJ has a history of mental health issues, which made socialising difficult. New people and places caused anxiety, and crowds of people and loud noises were daunting. With the encouragement of members of the best Facebook group in the world, Board Game Trading & Chat UK, she met with a local gamer to play some games in a bar. That quickly turned into a weekly game night, and gave AJ the confidence to check out her first gaming convention, HandyCon (which is awesome, by the way).
Between that first meet in a bar, and HandyCon, there was a bit of a hiccup. Though AJ had needed to use a cane to walk long distances for a few years, and a wheelchair a few times a year whilst having a pain flair due to fibromyalgia and 'unexplained joint pain', one night, whilst watching Euro-vision (don't judge!), she collapsed.
She had developed a fairly severe form of M.E. Since then, AJ has only been able to walk around 20 feet before needing to stop, if her body doesn't stop her first! It leaves her weak, fatigued, in pain, prone to collapse, and often confused (what is affectionately known as brain-fog!). It also means she sleeps... a lot.
So, when you see her out and about now, she will usually be whizzing about in her electric wheelchair, going a bit faster than she really should be, looking tired and dishevelled, but happy. Choosing to spend her limited energy on gaming and having fun, rather than drawing on her eyebrows and straightening her hair, she's a bit of a scruff bag most of the time!
M.E lead to a complete change in the way she lives her life, and needs precision planning when going to new places or events. Before she plans to go anywhere, she asks herself: Does it have wheelchair access? Can I get away from the crowds? Will people treat me like a novelty or a burden? Will I be worry free and able to enjoy myself?
After attending a few more gaming cons, emailing organisers, double checking that when they say it's wheelchair accessible it's actually wheelchair accessible, not that you can get through the door and hang around in the lobby, she realised that the information wasn't readily available, and accessibility often isn't at the front of organisers' minds.
So, she's doing it herself. Reviewing the places she goes, taking into account needs of people with both visible and invisible disabilities, and offering out advice to organisers where she can.
She speaks BSL and is Deaf-aware, so whenever she visits somewhere, D/deaf access needs are always taken into account, too.
She wants to make sure everyone can enjoy the hobby without worrying about access needs. Helping you get to the table.