When Connor was still barely a toddler, his father and I noticed he was becoming very good with computers and many days he would be on my lap while I wrote or played games. By the time he was 15 month, he was as good with a mouse as many children much older. He had a solid grasp on letters and numbers by the time he was two and was able to memorize directions.  We would walk the neighborhood and Connor was able to identify all letters and numbers on license plates, house numbers, etc.  One year, while we were packing to head north for Thanksgiving, Connor was three. He wanted to go for a walk.  His Dad said he would take him. Connor toddled off down the road with Doug following.  About 45 minutes later, Doug called me from McDonald’s. Connor had remembered the directions there and silently led Dad to a burger. So I got my keys and met them for dinner.

Connor’s early ability with the computer was how we learned that between ages 2 – 3, he was actually reading. He was listening to directions, able to follow them, find words, etc.  Many games gave no verbal directions and we would watch him look intently at the monitor and then click where directed.  When he was a little older, he graduated from a Disney game to Zoombinis (math and logic), Pajama Sam (problem solving and logic) and Reader Rabbit. All were rated for children older, but Connor figured them out. He began playing my Age of Empires and Roller Coaster Tycoon games shortly thereafter.  Since Connor would bore easily in classes and this led some teachers to assume he was delayed, technology gave a way to keep up with what his brain was doing at his pace. Also it helped with hand-eye coordination.