Apple ID for adult with Special Needs

Hello, Dana Pride2.

I have an adult son that is special needs, and basically has the mind of an 5-6 year old. I'd like to set up a child account for his iPad, but the apple age verification will not let me set one up for over 13 years old. Is there any way to do this? I set up his iPad with my Apple ID and now he has access to change my contacts and send messages through my iMessages.

Apple doesn’t have an account for this because Apple would have to think, as Limnos said:

…was somebody really setting up an account for a true person with these needs, or was somebody gaming the system to get away with something else?

The problem with this whole thing is that Apple can’t know if a person actually has special needs, so someone could use it for their own advantage.

You can either do what MrHoffman said and learn how to contact Apple for accessibility support, or you can use something I highly recommend for your son’s case: Assistive Access.

Assistive Access is an Accessibility feature specifically designed for people with cognitive disabilities, and simplifies the user’s iPhone or iPad to make it much easier to communicate, enjoy entertainment, and plenty of other everyday features, with the ability to tailor it to your child’s needs. You can select apps, including built-in apps that have been specifically designed for Assistive Access, and also allow other regular apps that are available from the App Store. You can enter and exit Assistive Access at any time with a pin that you set up.

To learn how to use Assistive Access, check out the Assistive Access User Guide for iPad from Apple Support.

I hope this helps!

Apple doesn't have any accommodation for this. I suspect the problem would be was somebody really setting up an account for a true person with these needs, or was somebody gaming the system to get away with something else? How much trouble are both parties willing to put up with policing this?

Have you looked into setting parental controls/Screen Time? Would those be adequate? Read about how to use Screen Time on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, in this Support article --> Use Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

With Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time, you can block or limit specific apps and features. Details are provided in the article: "Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch" —> Use parental controls on your child's iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Set up parental controls with Family Sharing on iPhone --> Set up parental controls with Family Sharing on iPhone - Apple Support

I suggest you contact Apple and ask them if they have suggestions. I can think of ways, but they would be violating the terms of use so there's no point in posting them.

Refer to this page for Apple Support features ➔ Contact - Official Apple Support

Select from the presented options until you find a solution for your issue, or see if there is a chat or phone call contact method offered lower on the page (you sometimes have to narrow down the options multiple times before this is shown). If you do not see your issue, keep experimenting with any series of selections until you reach one that offers a chat session or a telephone call and get the representative to redirect you.

This support article has various country telephone numbers for contacting Apple for support and service ➔ Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Sharing an Apple Account ends badly. You most definitely do not want to do that.

As for your options here, above has some info.

You can also ask Apple directly about this and similar cases.

Here is: How to contact Apple for accessibility support - Apple Support