Zackary Villeneuve, a 6-year-old autistic boy, was overwhelmed by the Internet. So his grandfather, who works in the software business, had a special browser built for him.

It’s called the Zac Browser for Autistic Children, and it’s available free at zacbrowser.com to anyone who wants it. (We tried to download it for a test drive this morning, but the download was very slow — perhaps because lots of other people saw this Associated Press story, which led us to the site.)

The basic idea is to simplify the user experience and reduce the number of available choices. The browser presents the user with a few large icons (a big soccer ball, a stack of books) that lead to a limited number of sites with activities like music and educational games. It blocks advertisements and other “flashing distractions,” the AP says.

The browser also disables some keys on the keyboard, as well as the right-click button on the mouse, to reduce the chances that a child will hit an incorrect key — which can quickly lead to frustration.

The browser was tailored to Zackary’s needs, and the spectrum of autism is so broad that there will doubtless be many autistic children who don’t find it useful. Still, one autism expert told the AP that the strategy of limiting distractions and using the software to increase a child’s confidence level makes a lot of sense.