seat for autistic 3yr old (who escapes seats!)

leighi123

Active member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #1

What would be best for a 3yr old who can easily escape her carseats? She is 3yrs old, autistic and 29 pounds and is 38" tall. Forward facing.
Price isnt an issue.

 

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lorismurph

Senior Community Member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #2

Can you tell us how she's getting out? Does she unbuckle? Slide the chest clip down? How is she getting out?

 

leighi123

Active member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #3

I dont know yet... Im trying to find out! A lady emailed me to ask and Im trying to get more info so I can help her. Sounds like she needs something she physically cannot get out of on her own though, vs. it being a dicipline issue, so I guess I was thinking of whatever seat is hardest for a kid to get out of!

 

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lorismurph

Senior Community Member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #4

There's always the sticky velcro on the buckles, in very extreme cases, the TP tubes under the chest clip to keep it in place (taped well with duct tape). I've heard of people turning the buckle backwards so the child cannot see the button to unbuckle but I know there has been some controversy over whether or not this is safe. I wonder about a Nautilus buckle turned backwards....

 

leighi123

Active member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #5

Ok I got some more info -
She has the cosco combination seat which I am assuming she means this one:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Back-Booster-Seat/1943168

The pic she sent me her straps look pretty tight and the chest clip is close to the right spot. She is undoing the chest clip and then putting her arms out and climbing out.

I guess she needs 2 of them and would like a cheaper seat.

 

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lorismurph

Senior Community Member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #6

Have her look at the Maestro. It is less expensive but will last a while yet (to 50 lb). Unless she wants to think ahead and know this child will likely need a harness for a long time yet. Then she may want to get Nautilus seats (maybe one now and one later). Has she already outgrown the seats they have? If not, can she save up to get a Nautilus, Frontier, or Radian? If we can keep her in the seat she has for now, maybe they can focus on saving for a harness to keep her in for several years to come.
As for sliding the chest clip down, maybe a different brand will be harder to slide? Or, as I mentioned earlier, some have used those horrid strap protecters that are too long for shoulder use but they can work to keep the chest clip in place (placed under the chest clip). Or people have used TP tubes, taped well with Duct Tape. I guess you have to replace these every couple of weeks if the child figures out how to pick them apart.
While it is not ideal nor something recommended very often to put something on the straps, it is better to keep her in the seat and these will not alter the safety or fit of the harness.

 

Evolily

New member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #7

Can the child button, zip, and snap? I would put the child in a shirt unfastened into the seat, buckling the harness, and fastening the shirt over the harness.

 

Last edited: Apr 20, 2010

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lorismurph

Senior Community Member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #8

That might just work, you can always put a safety pin under the zipper of a shirt or jacket. Might be worth a try anyway.

 

soygurl

Active member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #9

If she is opening the chest clip (and not just sliding it down), I would suggest they try putting poky velcro on the buttons and see if that helps. Beyond that, testing out the difficulty of different chest clips and buying the seat with the hardest to undo might help.

Depending on how much of an escape artist the child is, they might need to think about getting a rear adjust E-Z-ON harness. Not ideal of course, but that might be the only way to keep the child safely restrained in the long term... :shrug-shoulders:

 

leighi123

Active member

• Apr 20, 2010

• #10

I suggested the GN, b/c I know it can be found easily here, the only other ones Ive seen is the one she already has (I havent looked a whole lot, but those are two I know for sure). Im guessing she isnt going to want to order it online.

She is going to try pokey velcro for now, and see if that helps. I'll suggest the button over shirt idea as well (it is HOT here already though!)

One of the other reason she wants a new seat is b/c the child throws 'fits' and her current seat is not padded, so she needs something with a little more padding to protect her from herself.

Im hoping a seat with the 2prongy type chest clip will be harder for her to get out of vs. the kind she has now with the little button that is a lot easier to push.

 

Katy

New member

• Apr 21, 2010

• #11

I agree with the pokey velcro. A lot of children with Autism have sensory touch issues and She probably will not like that texture.

 

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werforpsu

New member

• May 1, 2010

• #12

I work with special needs children and the issue here is that she is autistic, so her ability to get out of her seat (her intelligence) may far exceed her age and social skills of understanding that she shouldn't get out and giving her a seat that is harder to get out of may not fix the problem for long (she will just figure out how to work the new set of buckles.

I think that since this is so important in terms of safety, the velcro, or something else that she finds undesirable to touch, is a good idea, but it shouldn't be something that she has such a strong dislike for that she gets upset at the prospect of getting into her seat.

Also, there are products out there specific to special needs children for car seats, maybe that needs to be looked into

 

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flipper68

Senior Community Member

• May 8, 2010

• #13

werforpsu said:

Also, there are products out there specific to special needs children for car seats, maybe that needs to be looked into

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any SN seats that address inappropriate unbuckling of the harness clip. . .

Even though you're in a warm climate, the button shirt or zip front shirt might work. A short sleeve cotton shirt won't add much to the temperature, although I have my doubts about the solution long term. I think the child will figure out how to undo it and/or destroy the shirt.

Have 'fidgets' or small/soft toys been tried? How about headphones or a DVD player? Maybe she can be distracted (. . .idol hands. . .).

Another thought - I wonder if her 'fits' might damage the SIP foam or headwings of a seat. The sides of a car seat shouldn't be dangerous during a tantrum, but the tantrum might be dangerous to the seat.