LeSieur's quest is a reminder that while the Web has created important communication and educational opportunities for some people with cognitive impairments, computers can also introduce new headaches for families trying to navigate the contours of disability.
The Zac Browser greatly simplifies the experience of using a computer. It seals off most websites from view, to block violent, sexual, or otherwise adult-themed material. Instead it presents a hand-picked slate of choices from free, public websites, with an emphasis on educational games, music, videos, and visually entertaining images, like a virtual aquarium.
Other programs for children already offer that "walled garden" approach to the Web. But LeSieur's browser aims to go further: It essentially takes over the computer and reduces the controls available for children like Zackary, who finds too many choices overwhelming.
For example, the Zac Browser disables extraneous keyboard buttons like "Print Screen" and turns off the right button on the mouse. That eliminates commands most children don't need anyway, and it reduces the chance a child will lose confidence after making a counterproductive click.
Children using the Zac Browser select activities by clicking on bigger-than-normal icons, like a soccer ball for games and a stack of books for stories. The Zac Browser also configures the view so no advertisements or other flashing distractions appear.
"We're trying to avoid aggressive or very dark or complicated websites, because it's all about self-esteem," LeSieur said from Las Vegas, where he lives. "If they're not under control, they will get easily frustrated."
Autism generally affects a person's ability to communicate, and Zackary doesn't speak much. But his mother, Emmanuelle Villeneuve, reports that the boy can start the Zac Browser himself. He enjoys listening to music through the program and trying puzzles - things he always liked before but hadn't been able to explore online, she said from her family's home in suburban Montreal.
Perhaps most tellingly, while he still acts out aggressively against the TV, she said, he doesn't try to harm the computer.
