Taking AAC device to WDW?

[loadsapixiedust]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of taking a communication device to WDW.

The device is DS's voice as he has no speech, it looks like a laptop and is mounted on the front of his wheelchair tray.

I am a bit concerned about taking it with us for several reasons:

1. it is valuable (not just monetary value) and I wouldn't like to lose it or have it damaged
2. it looks like a laptop and is a magnet for curious kids and could be a target for a thief
3. it needs to be removed for him to transfer for rides
4. what can we do with it if we all want to ride together
5. it would be easily damaged by rain
6. not sure how it would be viewed by US security or airline

Any thoughts appreciated as we are in a real quandry over this.

 

[eeyore45]

I have a friend who uses this device in court... she's a lawyer in Washington DC, she is one amazing intelligent person, and has one brave, strong Mom!

I've not used the device, but I'm sure there must be a way to accomadate you and your son's needs... I know that a lot of the times my girlfriend (who's in her thirties ) just uses her paper and pen to write instead of carrying the equipment, for the reasons you've stated for sure!!

 

[Talking Hands]

Do you have other ways to communicate with your son that could be used? If he is in a wheelchair except for being transferred to a ride the wheelchair is near castmembers but in most rides anyone could walk past and pick it up and it might be a big temptation. I think I would carry it with me onto the ride if it were possible. Also bring a cover for it in case of rain. Also would there be a way to lock it to his tray so it could not be removed except by a caregiver. Also sue to the value of the equipment I would not allow it to be left in the stroller park even if he has to transfer to a manual wheelchair for the ride (like Pirates of the Caribbean) Let castmembers know that due to the equipment it cannot be left in an unsecure area.

 

[SueM in MN]

My DD use a Dynavox and she currently uses a ruggedized tablet computer (a touchscreen laptop without a keyboard) as her AAC (Augmentative Communication Device).
For travel, it just went thru security the same as a laptop. I was a little concerned about her current computer because it is a brand used mostly by military and police, but no one asked us anything about it. If they did, wee would have just turned it on and demonstrated it (so make sure it is charged before going thru security).
Before traveling, we also backed up all her pages so that in case something did happen to it, we would not have to re-program everything. We also has a lock to lock it to her wheelchair and the computer has its own insurance policy (a rider on our homeowner's insurance).
Because of the reasons you mentioned, we decided that it was not a good idea to take DD's computer to the park (even though hers can be rained on, up to 3 inches of rain per hour). We left it in our room and made a paper set of communication pages for her. We used a small picture album and printed out the pages on the computer.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

Thankyou for your replies, Sue it is a Dynavox device that DS has. I am leaning towards using a communication book instead just for the parks and letting him take his Dynavox to use at other times. We didn't have it on our last trip as it is quite new to us. Among our family he can 'talk' in other ways, but it would be lovely for him to chat and greet CMs and characters he meets.
I will give it some more thought.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing you could do would be to take the Dynavox along on a day where you are planning mostly shows or rides/attractions where he won't have to get out of the wheelchair. Also, rather than take the huge Dynavox bag along, we put her Dynavox into a backpack, cushioned by a towel wrapped around it.
I don't know if your DS has used his Dynavox outside much, but even the newest one (MT4) doesn't have a screen that shows up very well in the sun.

One funny thing that happened to us, DD's Dynavox actually disappeared for a while - it had been left by the school people during an outing. When they went back to llok for it, it was nowhere to be found and no one responded to posters about it for a week. Then, it mysteriously re-appeared. I think someone actually stole it and after a week, they figured out it was not useful for anything except talking.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

funny about your DD's Dynavox disappearing, glad it came back.

We have had problems with the screen in the sun too!

 

[SueM in MN]

funny about your DD's Dynavox disappearing, glad it came back.

We have had problems with the screen in the sun too!

Actually, I was hoping it would not come back because it was a Dynavox 2C and since that was discontinued, insurance would have had to replace it with a newer version.