An 11-year-old boy with ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia used AI tools to build his own video game in under 8 hours, his mother revealed. The boy, who just finished fifth grade, leveraged Microsoft Copilot to design the game, which was inspired by the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.
The boy’s mother, Michele Ragon, a LinkedIn employee communications business partner, shared her experience in an as-told-to essay. She noted that her son initially used AI for school research, where it helped him organize his thoughts and gather context for an essay on hurricanes. Later, she discovered he had independently used Copilot to create a civilization-building game.
Ragon emphasized that AI tools like Copilot allowed her son to express creativity without needing advanced coding skills. The boy spent about four days working on the game in short sessions, guided by AI prompts. He had previously explored games on the Steam platform, which inspired his project.
Ragon’s account highlights how AI can assist children with learning differences in both academic and creative pursuits. She views the technology as a tool that enhances, rather than replaces, human creativity.