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. We have made this browser for the children - for their enjoyment, enrichment, and freedom. Children touch it, use it, play it, interact with it, and experience independence through ZAC.

The creators of ZacBrowser first created Kidz CD, a free browser for children and teens. When they learned their grandson, who was diagnosed with severe autism in 2005, was able to use and enjoy the browser they created another version designed around the needs of children diagnosed with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. The ZacBrowser was born.

ZAC is the zone that will permit your child to interact directly with games (a LOT of games) and activities (focused on MANY interests) that cater specifically to kids who display the characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, like impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior. ZAC has been an effective tool for kids with low, medium and high functioning autism.

You can download an installer of the ZacBrowser or an executable that can be run as is without a full blown installation. I’ve tested it on Windows Vista and Windows XP and it installed without incident. Once ZacBrowser is launched it fills the entire screen and what is displayed is a mesmerizing user interface.

The initial interface loads a very calming aquarium scene. The menu along the bottom of the screen is done in classic macintosh style and presents easy links to Aquarium, Television, Games, Music and Stories. Each section displays a different skin with links to the associated content. In my testing, videos, music or stories were played without a hitch. One video link led to the Disney site (wrapped in the ZacBrowser interface) and I was concerned this may be a jumping off point to other places online. It seems the developers thought of this as each attempt to do anything other than play the selected video was met with no results.

All in all this seems like a solid piece of software created with absolutely the best of intentions. In addition to the ZacBrowser they are also hosting a support ZacBrowser forum for parents to reach out to one another and share trials and successes.

(Parents) We know that your job here is challenging and that you meet the responsibilities of each day as a special kind of hero - especially to your autistic child! Because we share your circumstance as parents (or Grandparents) of a special needs child, we have developed a place especially for you so that you can share your unique experiences with other parents and grandparents. This is the best place to connect with others whose lives are touched by autism. You will benefit from their experiences, their stories, their tips, tricks, tools and triumphs - and they will learn from yours. All of this is essential because your child is so much more than any medical journal can possibly describe, and we all need more information than we can get from our doctors.

If you would like to spread the word about this great piece of software please use the ShareThis link below to Stumble it, Digg it, send a link in an email. Whatever your preference.

“They’re down to around 200 feet now.” I said.

“What kind of well are they digging?” My son interjected.

“Well, a water well of course. What other kinds of wells are there?” I said matter-of-factly.

My son said, with DUH intonation and attitude, “Wishing Wells!!!”

I laughed so hard I couldn’t catch a breath. He comes up with some good ones.

From the TOTLOL about page:

Most video websites use some method of content filtering to block content that is considered inappropriate for young adults. While the sites have great content for all ages, including tots and kids, they were not intended for children under the age of 13.
They provide no way to filter anything that may be inappropriate and they provide very limited tools to find what is appropriate and relevant.
This is where Totlol steps in.

I happen to think this is a pretty great idea and if enough of us spread the word and assist with the filtering process the site may have a chance to succeed. How does the moderating work you ask?

1. When scouting parents search the YouTube database via a Totlol interface. The scouting interface lets parents search and watch videos just as they used to do on YouTube.
When they find a video that they think is appropriate and relevant they can choose to submit it.

2. When submitting parents are asked to review the title and tags associated with the video and to provide a review of the content. They are also asked to specify the main language of the video and categorize it. This information, together with the original YouTube information is presented at screening.

3. The screening part of the process is where the community plays the most significant role. Each Totlol user is invited to screen videos submitted by others and to answer screening questions. The answers are collected and analyzed by computer.
Only videos that pass the grade are then available for the viewing tots.

It looks like some real thought went into this product and it would be nice to see it make it. YouTube is already an awesome resource but there is also plenty of undesirable stuff. If the community of moderators grows and proves to be trustworthy it could be the next killer preschool app. That’s right THE next killer preschool app.

If you check it out please remember the site is currently in Beta so don’t go on a witch hunt if the bottom falls out from underneath it every now and again.

I haven’t done any submitting yet but you can find my profile here. Have fun!

Because I couldn’t resist…

I’ve been working on a site redesign the last several weeks and have finally rolled it into production. If you view “D is for Dad” via a news reader it would be genuinely appreciated if you could click on through and maybe even leave a comment.

I’ve never been terribly fond of the traditional blog layout which introduces a lot of scrolling. With both Mike and I dabbling in the design world we wanted to bring as much information “above the fold” as possible and reduce the scrolling. We think this layout ( Branford Magazine theme) accomplishes this.

We’ve also taken this opportunity to add a couple of items.

• The Mini Blog - (look over on the right side)
  We will use this space for those short bursts of inspiration that don’t warrant a full blog post. As of right now I am not including the mini blog posts in the main RSS feed for this site, but you are able to subscribe to the mini blog feed itself by adding the following to your reader:
  http://www.disfordad.com/category/mini-blog/feed/
• D is for Dad Flickr Group - (upper right corner)
  I’ve created a public group on Flickr for D is for Dad. While it is public I am moderating what is added to the group as those photos will appear in the upper right corner. You are encouraged to add a photo of your own to this group. Have fun with it!

We hope you enjoy the changes. Let us know what you think.

Well, dads.alltop.com that is and we’re not really on the top (kinda close to the bottom actually) but we are very happy to be included. The good stuff is usually on the bottom anyway (sugar, cocoa, gold, solids in a septic tank), unless you’re talking about cream, then it’s at the top. But I digress….

This is pretty exciting stuff really. While we imagined giving our children something to groan about in the future we never really intended for people to like us. You do like us don’t you? Forget I asked. I may not be able to handle the truth.

I’m pretty sure we made our way onto the list via recommendation and for that I thank you. Yes, you.

The Alltop site is best explained, well, by Alltop. The following is from the about page.

We help you explore your passions by collecting stories from “all the top” sites on the web. We’ve grouped these collections — ”aggregations” — into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as environment, photography, science, celebrity gossip, fashion, gaming, sports, politics, automobiles, and Macintosh. At each Alltop site, we display the latest five stories from thirty or more sites on a single page — we call this “single-page aggregation.”

The result of this aggregation becomes a great starting point for each of the categories listed among the collections. This could also be a fantastic networking tool. I’ve already discovered many Dad and Mom blogs that I wasn’t aware of or, dare I say, forgotten about.

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki and the rest of Nononina for creating a pretty sweet resource, and for including lil ol’ us.