When I tried to figure out whether Alex (age 3 yrs. 3 mo.) was ready to use the computer, I had him play some free games on the Internet. What a mess?! He was frustrated. I was frustrated. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he could not get the mouse to point and click.

 The fact that he knew what he wanted to do told me he was ready. I was delighted that he could follow instructions on the computer. Now it was just a matter of making the computer do what he wanted it to do.

 I use an adult-size wireless mouse. I keep the motion pretty quick. Alex would spend an inordinate amount of time getting my mouse to point to the item on the screen. Once the cursor was in place, he would reposition his hand from grasping the mouse to clicking the button. In the process of clicking, the cursor would fly off of the target. So he would have to start over again.

 I knew the first thing I needed to do was slow the cursor down. He needed to work with bigger hand movements. We tried that.

 Even when the mouse wasn’t so jumpy, he had the problem of repositioning his hand in the middle of the point-and-click sequence. My mouse just wasn’t right for him.

 So I bought him a notebook sized mouse. Here it is next to my mouse  … My Mouse and Alex’s Mouse

 I added the star to remind him where to click. Alex’s Mouse

 After only a few sessions on the computer, Alex can point and click like a pro!