Custom Wheelchair Tray Adaptations for Dynavox

Daniel uses a manual wheelchair with the standard plexi-glass tray. He relies on that tray to support his upper body. It also is a good place to put toys or school materials. We sometimes attach communications symbols to the tray, for quick access. And we adhere hand and arm operated switches to the tray.

But there is no tray on the market that does just what we wanted -- which is to house his augmentative communication device (a specialized computer that is his "voice"). So -- with the expert input of his OT, Trish, and a wonderful volunteer craftsman, Joe, we collaborated on a very custom tray for Daniel.

To accommodate the computer, we had to order a significantly oversized tray. We opted for the slide on style-- tracks mounted on the bottom of the tray slide onto the arm rests of his wheelchair. A strap attached to the tray wraps around the back of the seat to buckle and secure the tray somewhat.

Joe removed the wood trim from the front edge of the tray, and cut out a door the size of the computer. This door is hinged to open up and away from Daniel. Sorry -- the hinges are not on the market. Joe manufactured them himself. He's amazing that way!

Here the lid is closed, allowing Daniel to have a large tray surface. You can see the circle overlay on his computer touch screen -- he slides his hand over the plexiglass to the option he wants, then rests his hands on that "button" for a full second to activate the voice.

Joe fabricated tracks on the underside of the tray which the computer slides into. We strap it to those tracks securely. One very nice feature is that it's possible to plug the power supply and the external switches and earphones in while the computer is in the tracks. All the ports are on the left side of the computer, and the tracks were made to accommodate that.

The weight of the tray, plus the computer, required "kickstands" to support the weight. We've got PVC pipe which can fold down from the tray and rest on the wheelchair footplates. They're the right length to give the tray the perfect angle for viewing the computer.



You might be wondering about the blue mitts on Daniel's hands. We protect his hands from bumps and cuts when he's on the bus by slipping socks over his hands, then securing them with stretchy absorbent wrist bands (used for sports). The black handle Daniel's right hand is resting on is a suction cup mounted hand support make by Rifton. Because it's mounted with suction, we can reposition it depending on Daniel's needs that day. Often he uses it to brace his right arm, allowing him to use his left more accurately.

So -- that's an overview of Daniel's custom tray.

How about you? Have you customized a wheelchair to make it work for your own needs? Share pictures!