Neurodiversity Game Academy workshops

Catch recently finished a 30-day game jam and placed in the top ten. Cyberjerk: A-3704 



The moment before you're shown the wisdom behind the adage...
“Turning the other cheek.”

Nobody’s likes being rejected. Especially an emotionally unstable AI military-grade killing machine with inexplicable hate for classic hover cars.


Here’s an ambulance chaser that actually ensures personal injury.


A pickup truck was never intended to be picked up, never mind being tossed. That's a classic Cyberjerk move, though. Trucks aren’t so tough.



What’s more frightening than a snowman come to life? How about an abominable snowman on the same platform! 

“Miner Escape” coming soon…



Autism Spectrum - PANDAS & PANS Syndrome - (Neuro)Challenges

Neurodiversity Game Academy is an awareness vehicle being used to reach out to both kids with neuro(challenges) and game industry-related mentors that want to help kids learn more about what they do. 

Our 16-year-old son, Catch Fehst, founded this initiative based on his experiences with debilitating symptoms from an illness called P.A.N.S. Syndrome. He is homeschooled and shares with other kids what worked for him in regards to coping skills. I am an extremely proud parent that he applied his knowledge towards being an inclusion advocate for other kids on the spectrum. 

Please join us in supporting our community of like-minded kids in nurturing their creative aspirations starting with an introduction to game development assisted by volunteer industry professionals. As a community, we encourage and learn from one another. 

Inclusion games are made available for group participation as well as open discussion. 

Donations from this fundraiser go towards ongoing game development expenses. Any contribution that you can make helps, including sharing this GoFundMe campaign.

Thank you for your support as Neurodiversity Game Academy continues to enrich the lives of neuro-diverse kids by exposing them to the therapeutic experience of game development.


*Read Catch’s interview on BuildBox.com about Miner Escape and Neurodiversity Game Academy


"My Kid is NOT Crazy" PANDAS/PANS syndrome documentary (Please watch the trailer below)


1 in 200 children will get P.A.N.D.A.S. or P.A.N.S. syndrome (*source: P.A.N.D.A.S. Network.org)

If you have children that have been recently acting in an abnormal behavior they may be suffering from a severe brain inflammation onset due to an infection. Early symptoms may mimic Autism however if not treated correctly and early enough the brain inflammation damage already incurred can become more severe and possibly irreversible. 

To help other children before it is too late please spread awareness of this horrible affliction by sharing this campaign with your social network and of course by seeking out more information if you feel that your child may have this illness.

Catch, as a direct result of his illness, has "complex tics" throughout the day. Most are minor verbal and facial tics. Some are full body and painfully debilitating that can last for long periods. His OCD can cause him to take hours doing what should be considered simple tasks for his mobility. Years ago, during his initial growth spurt stage, his irrational fears of sleeping compelled him into extreme night time contortions, which ultimately led to self-inflicted scoliosis. Family dynamics are challenging to say the least. His disruptive compulsions and combative behavior demanding to see them through can make it near impossible to have a normal life.

Depression is a constant consideration when applying parenting and homeschooling techniques. He is well aware of his compulsions and taking control over which he has no control is frustrating and demoralizing for him. Our remedy for avoiding depression has been and always will be to help him with his passion for game development and sharing with others that suffer similar afflictions.


Neurodiversity Game Academy  inclusion game workshop for the awareness game, "Miner Escape," has begun!

Miner Escape is a community open-sourced workshop game currently being developed. 

We recently made an announcement in the group that Anthony Espina will be scoring the game and offering his mentorship to all members that want to participate in its composition. Anthony is known for his work on over 30 feature films and tv shows including “My Kid is NOT Crazy,”  which is a documentary drawing attention to P.A.N.D.A.S./P.A.N.S. Syndrome. This is a huge opportunity for the autism spectrum community to learn and create music for what will be an epic game that will help define us all as a creative force. 

If you haven't already done so, this is a perfect time to join the group and make yourselves known. We are fundraising for this inclusion workshop and need your donations to help make this game an epic success. We also need your help finding additional members that either can mentor or want to participate in the project. 


Catch’s Origin Story


Imagine our horror when as Catch's parents, realized that we failed our child by accepting a diagnosis without question. 

Catch is our now 16-year-old son. His life began normal enough and exuded pure joy up until the ages between 3-4. We vividly remember this because his personality and choices made a complete 180-degree turn for the worse. To our shock, he would dart in front of oncoming traffic knowing full well the danger. Happy occasions would make him inexplicably angry. He began starving himself and became withdrawn. His personality phased in and out of what most would consider normal to abnormal up until his early teen years. That’s when his regression hit bottom and stayed there.

Catch was originally misdiagnosed as having autism and again later as Aspergers. Experts being experts, we never thought to question it and chose to home school him at age 11, as he was consistently regressing both academically and socially at school. Our focus at first was to help him find his passion and explore ways to help him become a neuro(un-challenged) warrior. 

Catch being an inquisitive kid, on his own discovered that his symptoms are in fact related to P.A.N.S. Syndrome which is mostly an untreatable illness that attacks the brain and wrecks havoc on the body. PANS is a subset of PANDAS which has a known cause. Since PANS is caused by unknown pathogens treatment is less likely, compounded by the nature of the illness training the body’s immune system to attack the brain, it may never get cured once the teen years have been reached. 

To our dismay, health insurance does not yet cover PANDAS/PANS syndrome treatment in our family's province but progress is being made through aggressive awareness campaigns made around the world.

Catch has become passionate about coding which is a skill many kids on the spectrum gravitate towards. He is also wildly creative and has no fear when going after what he wants to accomplish. As parents, we are fully devoted to see his dreams become a reality. Driven to do even more so knowing full well that on his own his affliction may make achieving any of his goals near impossible.


What is… NEURODIVERSITY GAME ACADEMY 

Which brings us again to our GoFundMe campaign. Catch has set out to advocate for other kids that are experiencing neuro(challenges) and wants to help them find their passions in game development, which spans many other creative aspects related to the industry, i.e. music, story, art, animation, technical and so forth. He has tirelessly sought out industry professionals to help with mentoring as well as reaching out to other neurodiverse kids and their parents. Neurodiversity Game Academy is now over 600 members strong!

Seeking Volunteers (Mentors)

Game development similarly involves all types of creatives as compared to other industries. While it is possible to be a jack of all trades, the logistics of such an endeavor take more time while you do less. Our family is all-in with Neurodiversity Game Academy and what it is trying to accomplish. A lot of good can come out of this and we are committed to seeing it through. However, this takes resources that we have a limited supply of.

If you also find this a worthy endeavor, donations go towards Catch's outreach and ultimately defines the quality of his inclusion workshops at Neurodiversity Game Academy. 

*Connect with Catch on: LinkedIn 


Catch has frequent "complex tics" which is a debilitating symptom from having P.A.N.S. Syndrome and severe brain inflammation.


Catch does not let his illness prevent him from what he loves to do. He also advocates for game development inclusion.



Neurodiversity Game Academy  is a Facebook group that is designed to bring industry professionals and neuro-diverse kids together so that they can all be inspired and learn from one another. The group currently has over 600 members!


Without the ones and things we love, what else is there to live for?! ¯_(ツ)_/¯  


Beautiful Bowen Island, BC Canada!