The garage is a big temptation for Super D. I guess I should refine that statement. The tractor in the garage is a big temptation for Super D. He loves tractors. If the garage door is open, he is likely to be sitting on it. It was a great blessing to see him get excited over something until the day he discovered he could open the door to the garage and have access to the tractor anytime he wanted.
His new found “freedom” created new challenges for us. For a while a security chain worked. It was not long before he was tall enough to reach it. The big problem we have is, if I raise the chain up to where he can not reach it, my 10 year old will not be able to reach it either. Super D is almost as tall as he is.
The solution hit me one night when the janitorial closet door closed behind me at work. A storage room autolock knob would allow us to have access to the garage from inside the house while keeping Daniel out. The new knob replaced the existing knob without any modification to the door. We keep the key hanging on a cup hook across from the door. It is within Super D’s reach, but he does not show any interest in it at this point. Even if he did, he does not have the fine motor skills to get the key into the lock.
I also installed one on our downstairs bathroom to keep him from playing in there. The best part, each lock has a number on the package. If you buy locks with the same number, they will be keyed the same. In our case, the bathroom is across from the garage door. One key opens either door. The next door to get one will be the door to the basement.
One caveat, I would not use this method if your garage is one of the main emergency exits in your house. We have two other exits, so there is little concern about lost keys in an emergency situation.
What methods do you use to limit access to areas of your home which could be dangerous to a child with special needs?
Life With Super D! 
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