Feeling more confident with internet safety thanks to Discover Digital workshops

Ruth lives in Gloucestershire with her daughter Olive, who has been diagnosed with autism, pathological demand avoidance, borderline ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), sensory processing disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, and oppositional defiance disorder.

Ruth explains, “At the moment, Olive doesn’t attend school because we can’t find one that will meet her needs.”

“Currently, the iPad granted by Family Fund is the only source of learning that she has.”

“Olive’s conditions have a huge impact on home life. We have to make sure we keep a low demand lifestyle, in order to help regulate her behaviour. Additionally, Olive doesn’t like leaving the house so she’s quite pale and doesn’t get much Vitamin D.

“As a parent, it’s been really difficult. I’m not able to work since caring for Olive is a 24/7 responsibility.”

Support through Family Fund’s Discover Digital sessions

Family Fund granted Olive a tablet and supported Ruth by providing training to ensure her family were getting the best out of their grant award.

Ruth says, “The sign-up process was easy and there were no issues with attending the workshop online. Even though I’m used to Apple technology, I still didn’t know how to do all the things that I needed to know to keep a child safe on the internet.

“The workshop taught me some helpful skills about parental controls. I learnt how I can set timers, restrict content, and make the internet safer for Olive. She’s on the iPad a lot, so it was useful to know how to put these safety barriers in place.

“If Olive’s behaviour starts to be a bit tricky, I can now remotely stop her access to the internet via my phone. It means that I have more control over it, rather than having to physically take the device away.”

“The digital skills training was really good. I now feel much more confident in letting my daughter use the iPad and internet, without feeling like I’m putting her in a dangerous place.”

“I would definitely recommend the training to others because it was extremely bespoke. The trainer was really patient with me. I was taught what I needed to know, rather than a generic overview.”