When Robert Florio was 14 years old, a swimming pool accident left him quadriplegic, unable to move from his upper arms down. He has overcome serious trials and tribulations since that fateful day, but Robert has found his escape in art.

A few years after his accident, Robert had his dentist create a special mouthpiece for him to balance a paintbrush in his teeth. He creates art using that mouthstick and has been known to sit for hours and draw things that interested him most. “Painting made me feel like I was in control” he says. “I lost so much control after my injury. Painting heightened my senses. ”

His artwork has gotten national attention and through a chance meeting one day at a local Best Buy, the attention of Baltimore Oriole’s right fielder, Jay Gibbons. Jay has become a great friend to Robert, as well as a mentor. Marking the 10th anniversary of Robert’s accident, the Baltimore Legends Sports Museum accepted and unveiled a copy of Robert’s portrait of Jay, an honor that was duly accepted.

Now 25 years old, Robert has graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division with a Bachelor’s Degree in Game Art and Design as well as being recognized with the first ever Dean’s Merit Award. This award honors a student who has demonstrated an extraordinary accomplishment and who promotes academic integrity all while maintaining a 3.25 G.P.A.

Since Robert was a little boy, video games have captured his attention and he has been drawn to the story lines of games such as Lara Croft and Earthworm Jim. The one thing in his rehabilitation center that got him excited was a Super Nintendo. Unfortunately, he couldn’t operate the controller and the staff was unable to adapt it for him.

Now, Robert uses his mouth to control the action on a special QuadControl “sip and puff” tube attached to the game controller as well as a specially designed larger, flat button controller he can control using his mouthstick. However, the new gaming systems are coming out with oddly shaped controllers that feature more, even tinier buttons. Robert cannot play games that require players to aim, shoot, jump and run at the same time such as “Halo 3” or “Call of Duty”. He must play older games that don’t require as much dexterity.

“The developers aren’t interested [in making games accessible], because they say there isn’t a big enough market for it, ” says Robert. Mainstream video games that are accessible to individuals with disabilities do not currently exist within the $11 billion video game industry and Robert is hoping to change that. His career ambition is to create video games for people with disabilities for both fun and rehabilitation. He has been urging the gaming industry to address the needs to gamers with disabilities.

Through the Art Institute Online, Robert has taken courses in advanced illustration, 3-D animation and game development. “As soon as I started taking classes online, everything opened up for me,” he said. He has dedicated himself to making the gaming industry more accessible to people with disabilities. Robert travels giving motivational speeches and is an active member of the International Game Developers Association’s Game Accessibility Special Interest Group. Through his education, Robert has been making contacts in the gaming world, developing and pitching ideas to gaming big-wigs. He has also been working with Acclaim games in a top-secret contest whose winning ideas will be conceptualized by well-known developer David Perry.

Since being in rehabilitation, therapists at Hershey Medical Center helped Robert gain some control of his arm muscles. Robert can now drive his wheelchair and reach the top of his head with his left arm. His story is a true inspiration to people everywhere. We commend Robert’s courage and dedication and look forward to seeing more great thing from him in the future.

www.robertflorio.com.