The National Federation has said those with autism can learn valuable skills, such as communication, leadership and problem solving, through the immersion esports generates for its athletes.

The sport also allows them to have space to escape, relax and generate social skills.

AtomicDino999, a player for the British Esports Championships team St Vincent Sharks, explained to the federation how gaming helps them.

"Esports has helped me in meeting new people from sixth form," the player said.

"The similar interest helps start a conversation, and because esports and gaming are so widespread it isn’t that hard to find someone who has the same interests as you whether you are from a School of Personalised Learning or Sixth Form."

Autism is a spectrum of several conditions which effects the way people communicate and experience the world.

While some can live, learn and work independently, others have health conditions which require specialist support.

A recent study by Ukie suggested that 18 per cent of people in the gaming industry were reported to have at least one neurodevelopmental condition and employment of autistic people in the gaming industry is nearly four times higher than any other employment sector.

In 2019, the BEA organised a pilot competition for alternative provision schools to show it was inclusive and to gather wider understanding of the impact gaming has on young people with special educational needs.

Pilot events did not stop there with new ones coming to fruition after, such as its collaboration with the National Star College last year where people with disabilities and neurodiverse needs were introduced to video game franchise Fifa and esports overall.

Mark Peters, a teacher for the Autism Academy in Basingstoke, is an advocate of using gaming as a mechanism of aiding autistic people to learn.

“I have seen the positive impact that gaming has in regard to the students’ interpersonal skills, and games like Minecraft have supported the pupils’ decision making and problem-solving skills,” he remarked to the BEA.

He regularly takes his students to the esports arena at Queen Mary’s College where his pupils develop themselves and pick up skills they can apply elsewhere in their life, such as school.

"Going to the esports facility, pupils are required to work as a team, and I have seen this being transferred into a classroom setting where they are able to peer support without being prompted," he said.

"I believe their ability to extract information from pieces of text have improved and the need to identify what is required of them in order to achieve their desired outcome can relate to working in a classroom."

"I believe people need to embrace that gaming can correspond with pupils learning in a good way.

"How this can build their lifelong learning, emotionally and socially.

"In addition, there is a huge career path and emphasis in esports which in turn can link to all aspects of edtech or computer science where they can enjoy work and get paid for it."

He added: "Being a big advocate of pupils building their interactions, gaming if delivered in the right environment can immensely improve their communication skills and can build a sense of a community where interests are shared. Esports has this in abundance."

Alice Cooper, the corporate partnerships officer at the autism research charity Autistica, believes employing more neurodivergent people is one of the next steps the sport needs to make to ensure esports is more inclusive.

"By hiring more neurodivergent people, games studios can also benefit from skills like innovative problem solving and the ability to resist ‘herd mentality’," she told the BEA.

"By encouraging more neurodivergent players to get involved and take part in esports, the industry can continue to advocate for inclusivity and create spaces for autistic and neurodivergent players to connect and enjoy themselves."