Portable Communications Devices?

[6_Time_Momma]

Hi all. My son (Down Syndrome) uses a Wolf board at school and some signing at home, but I am wondering about looking into a portable communication device that he can start learning how to use. Due to the changes in the MIchigan Spec. Ed. laws, his whole class is being moved into a "regular" school next year, so not everyone is going to understand his signs and the Wolf board is not really all that portable. Any ideas? (I know, it is not Disney related, but?)

 

[SueM in MN]

I can help you out with this one. My DD used a Whisper Wolf at one point. If your DS's Wolf is the same as the device my DD used, it's kind of clumsy, hard to program and doesn't have a very good voice. It's more an evaluation device than a real communication device.
The most often used device is the Dynavox. If your DS has good fine motor skills for pointing, you might want to look into the Dynamyte (which is a smaller version of the Dynavox) by Dynavox systems. It is small, portable, easy to use and tough to break (plus it's really cool looking). The Dynavox is about 10 by 12 inches and the Dynamyte is about 7 by 8 inches and comes with a shoulder strap to carry it around. It is easy to program and has both a very good symbol language system (similar to Mayer Johnson symbols if you are familiar with them) and words. You can also use a coombination of words and symbols. The device has a dynamic touch screen (which means the pages touch themselves).

Dynavoxsys.com
Dynavox products page.
They are expensive, but many insurance plans will cover them and they are easy to get coverage from Medical Assistance for in most states. The company also has a funding department that can help with anything you need.
My DD has an older version Dynavox. The newer 3100 series (or course) came out about 6 months after she got her Dynavox. Hers is older technology and not quite as nice, but it is still easy to program and better than anything else she has had.