Why am I about to share my iPad password with you? Because it’s so good and so brilliant, that you’ll want to use it, too!
We’ve talked before about how important and how tough it can be to teach personal information to our kids. The National Autism Association says that about 48% of children with autism attempt to elope from a safe environment; roughly four times as high as their typically developing peers. We need to arm our children with tools to advocate and keep themselves safe in the event that they are separated from a family member or other trusted adult.
When it came time to find a way to teach our address and phone number to our daughter, we needed something that was a highly desired object to reward her for memorizing it. What’s more highly motivating that the iPad?! So, we set the passcode on our iPad to be our ten digit phone number. In order to open up the device, she’d need to enter the whole thing. Of course, at first it took a lot of help and guidance. I wrote the number on a piece of paper and taped it to the wall. Then, I’d sit with her and tell her what to type. I started to fade those prompts by entering the first 8 digits and letting her fill in the rest. I’d decrease the amount of digits I was entering and I’d let her fill in more over time. Before too long, I didn’t have to prompt or help her at all. She wanted that iPad and she knew how to get it.
Believe it or not, after a few months, we actually made the iPad password our address: house number and street name. We followed the same steps as above and slowly faded the supports. In time, she learned our phone number and address!!
I wish I could say I came up with this brilliant idea on my own. I didn’t. It was all my husband Ben’s idea. Gotta give him the credit! It’s a great idea, and, of course, you can steal it! If you try this, let us know how it goes!