Cell phone recommendation for child with autism?

[opus_00]

Our 13 yo DS has high-functioning autism. My husband and I have been thinking for some time that we would like for him to have his own phone for emergencies, but worry that he does not have the maturity or executive functioning to keep track of it or use it properly. We recently passed down one of our old android phones to him to use as a wifi device when we upgraded, and he uses it strictly to take photos and videos, play some games, and for limited internet use (which we supervise). It makes him feel like a typical teen to have the phone and carry it around.

Because we do not pay for a service plan for this phone, he has no calling or texting capabilities. If he is not at school or with another responsible adult, he is with us, so there is usually no real need for him to have those services, and we do not want to commit to a monthly plan until we see that he can be responsible for the phone and its proper use. However, I would love for him to have calling and texting ability during our WDW trip Thanksgiving week in case we become separated. I have heard that there are ways to get calling and texting using wifi only, without having a service plan. Have any of you used this? If this setup would be possible on his phone, would WDW park wifi be reliable enough? Do any of you have other recommendations for phones or phone plans for kids with special needs?

 

[xlxo]

Which carrier was the Android phone from? Is the phone unlocked to accept cellular services from anyone?

Some carriers have short term services by the day, week, or month. I recently activated an ATT SIM card on a second phone for an Alaska trip. It was a no contract GoPhone SIM.

 

[millweather]

Our 13 yo DS has high-functioning autism. My husband and I have been thinking for some time that we would like for him to have his own phone for emergencies, but worry that he does not have the maturity or executive functioning to keep track of it or use it properly. We recently passed down one of our old android phones to him to use as a wifi device when we upgraded, and he uses it strictly to take photos and videos, play some games, and for limited internet use (which we supervise). It makes him feel like a typical teen to have the phone and carry it around. Because we do not pay for a service plan for this phone, he has no calling or texting capabilities. If he is not at school or with another responsible adult, he is with us, so there is usually no real need for him to have those services, and we do not want to commit to a monthly plan until we see that he can be responsible for the phone and its proper use. However, I would love for him to have calling and texting ability during our WDW trip Thanksgiving week in case we become separated. I have heard that there are ways to get calling and texting using wifi only, without having a service plan. Have any of you used this? If this setup would be possible on his phone, would WDW park wifi be reliable enough? Do any of you have other recommendations for phones or phone plans for kids with special needs?

From my experience last year, the wifi was pretty hit or miss. A handful of times my iphone switched over to data from the wifi. Now I don't know android apps but are you saying there may be an app you could download for your son to use that would give him that capability? For Apple products (iPod, iPad, out of service iPhones), you can text with wifi with no phone service via iMessages...wonder if android has something similar?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[My3kiddos]

He could download Whatsapp and use it if he has access to wifi.

 

[DisneyFan13US]

I agree with millweather, the WiFi in the parks was very hit or miss when I was there. I actually just ended up turning off the WiFi on my phone to prevent the battery drain of trying to connect all the time.

Hope you figure it out and that you have a magical trip.

 

[LisaBi]

For emergency calling only I got my son a TracPhone. I pay 19.99 for 90 days of service. That includes very few minutes. You can also buy more minutes. I got him a very basic phone at target for under $10. It does not have Wi-Fi capability. But is perfect for him to carry if he's going to be somewhere and might need to call me. He could text with it but that would chew up the minutes. But he doesn't know how to text so that's not an issue for us.

 

[powellrj]

I agree with the trac phone. You can get them at most big box stores for not very much and buy a small plan for him to use.

 

[jenineh]

My younger son uses What's app on his ipad for free texting. No calling though. I recently got my Asperger's son 15 an iPhone and you would be amazed at how responsible these kids can be when u explain the consequences of loosing the phone. He's had it a couple of months and has not misplaced it once.

 

[2tinkerbell]

My DD had an iTouch for a number of years. I disabled the internet on it (well made it password accessible ) and was able to download some social stories for her. She was extremely responsible and used it to text when WIFI was available. I recently purchased her an iPhone 5C and it is amazing how responsible she is with it.

 

[opus_00]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. Our carrier is Sprint. I do not know if the phone is unlocked or how to tell if it is or not (so I assume that means it is not). I did not know that some carriers offer short-term plans. I will look into that. It sounds like the TracPhone may be what he needs, so I will investigate that as well.

 

[opus_00]

.

 

[mistysue]

As an android phone it likely already has Google hangouts installed. That works on WiFi. It will text, video call and recently added a phone call capability all able to be used on wifi.

 

[KateDinVA]

This doesn't answer your specific question about wifi only apps, but have you checked options like PureTalkUSA? I recently switched from them, but my husband still uses them.

You can get a SIM card for your phone for free, and plans as little as $5 a month (50 minutes, with texts being about 3 texts to 1 minute). We used this service (we had the flex plan, which has rollover minutes) with an iphone 3 and galaxy. No data plan - just use wifi - but text and phone over standard apps in the phone. No contract - you can easily cancel after your month, if you want.

You can even get a free (flip, older) phone with the $5 plan, but if your son already has a compatible phone that he keeps up with, no need to!

 

[bopper]

Does the phone have a SIM card? If so, go to AT&T and get a prepaid plan. I think we could pay like $25 and it would cost so much per text and call.

We did that when we were living in Germany and would come home to the USA to visit.