Can we discuss special needs children and carseats?

Last night I was at the dc. I was filling out the child info cards on the xtsls and re-reading the manual since I was in a hurry the first time. I also had the destroyed EFTA there to leave for my boss to take into BRU to trade in for her new seat. (Looks like she is going to see how much she can get a GN,5yo, and Scenera, 3yo, for)

Anywho, this is where parents start asking about seats.

I have a special needs 3yo up there. He wears a helmet for seziures, has a feeding tube, and has several developmental delays for which he goes to OT 3x a week. He weighs 32lbs. He is in a Cosco that his mom got at a check 2 yrs ago... He was put in FF when she got it. She thinks it is a booster too. I'll look at it Tuesday. She wants to get him a higher harnessing seat because kid is pretty big and the cs is little in her opinion. IMO this child will not be ready for a booster until he is much much older (10-12yo at the current rate). She is willing to spend $300 when her tax return arrives. We have a large budget IMO. She asked me if I'd heard of Radians.

He is the same height as ds. Would you recommend an XTSL and turn him around to rf? They have a 1hr drive 1 way to work/daycare. Would you just suggest something like a Frontier/Regent and keep him FF? I am thinking that the helmet just adds to the strain on his neck and that rf would reduce injury.

She is really exercising some concern on the topic so I am sure my recommendation will be taken well and followed. She has her nearly 8yo dd in an HBB. The fact that she has gone to a check proves she cares more than most people I know. (Granted, she holds a little grudge that they took away her perfectly good 6yo graco seat away.)

I would suggest a rf'ing radian for now and of course he can ff in it for quite a while later too. Then she could look into something like the frontier, which by that time will have the higher top slots and weight limit. If insurance will pay for it, she could try for a special needs seat like the roosevelt (bigger than the traveller). If they WON'T pay, it can't hurt to start saving up for it. I *think* they sell it for about $500 for people paying out of pocket, even though the list price is more like $1000.

You said he wears a helmet for seizures so I assume he is ambulatory correct? And wouldn't need tons of support necessarily. Correct me if I'm wrong. If he can't support his torso, the radian will not work well for him at all. But since he's in a ff'ing cosco thing I'm ASSuming he can sit up.

I agree- If she is willing to RF, then steer her toward a radian. I might not go for the XT just because with the helmet it might be a tight fit in the head wings.

Just wondering -

Since the helmet is for seizures (and not to reshape his head), I would think you could take it off for transport. If the child is in a 5 pt harness, head injury during a seizure shouldn't be an issue.

Usually for little ones, these helmets are soft, like those used for martial arts or like this: http://www.plument.com/, so added weight is much less a concern.

I'd be a bit more concerned about the g-tube site. Sometimes, it's placement interfers with the harness.