Future of Engineering

"Some parts of the Web have so much extraneous material that it can be distracting, and for the nonverbal child, there might not be an ability to negotiate that information," adds Stephen Sheinkopf, an autism researcher at Brown University.

ZAC is the first web browser developed specifically for children with autism, and autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and PDD-NOS. It has a high chance of increasing a child's ability to do things independently.

Zackary, the 6-year-old grandson of John LeSieur was diagnosed with autism in 2005. Being in the software business John LeSieur wanted his grandson to play games and use the computer. Unfortunately Zachary found it hard to navigate inside the world wide web.

That's when Grandpa LeSieur decided to create a special browser for the little kid.He has named it the Zac Browser For Autistic Children and is making it available to anyone for free.

The Zac Browser greatly simplifies the experience of using a computer. It seals off most Web sites from view, to block violent, sexual or otherwise adult-themed material. Instead it presents a hand-picked slate of choices from free, public Web sites, with an emphasis on educational games, music, videos and visually entertaining images, like a virtual aquarium.

Thanks to grandpa's gift, Zachary listens to music and plays puzzles - things he always liked before but hadn't been able to explore online.

The Zac Browser can be downloaded or run directly from: http://www.zacbrowser.com

Labels: Computer-Science