Tricks of the trade?

Hope this is ok to post here

So my oldest turned 7 on Thursday. He has ADHD and ODD controlled by medications but he is STILL not doing well in a booster. I can't even begin to tell you how many times we've gone from booter back to harness. It's a 20 min drive to school and back...he's leaning over to mess with his brother, bending down to pick up something, and the newest: scooting down and slouching in the seat with his legs bent up-lap belt to his mid-belly and shoulder belt practically cutting across his face. He still fits in the Regent and has about 1/2" until he's at the top slots. I'm losing hope that he'll ever be ready and what to do when he outgrows the Regent. Can anyone offer any advice or tricks of the trade? Anything to help get him trained???

Does he receive any kind of therapies? Sometimes behavior in the car can be included in their therapy sessions and make a big difference.

My kids have various diagnoses (including ADHD) but none of them ever drove me to distraction the way my niece does in a booster seat. She's just constantly moving, constantly forgetting to stay properly positioned - driving with her is a major distraction! So I know that this is more than a basic behavioral issue, or a usual booster-training problem. It's not a matter of reminding the child 3-4 times on a twenty minute trip - more like 100-200 times!

The only other thing I can think of would be to move him back to the Regent for necessary trips right now, but set aside some time for you to ride with him while someone else drives and he's in a booster. That would give you the ability to completely focus your attention on him. I know reward incentives tend to backfire with ODD kids, so maybe you could try making it his project instead? Something like "Okay, dude, you've got to get your body trained on using a booster seat. How should we do that? Do you want to pick out a way to reward yourself when you get done?"

Can you lock the seatbelt? Buckle him in and pull the seatbelt all the way out and see if it locks as it retracts. That will limit his bending over/leaning but may not correct the slouching. It's worth a try.

Defrost said:

Does he receive any kind of therapies?

Click to expand...

No he doesn't

Defrost said:

The only other thing I can think of would be to move him back to the Regent for necessary trips right now, but set aside some time for you to ride with him while someone else drives and he's in a booster. That would give you the ability to completely focus your attention on him. I know reward incentives tend to backfire with ODD kids, so maybe you could try making it his project instead? Something like "Okay, dude, you've got to get your body trained on using a booster seat. How should we do that? Do you want to pick out a way to reward yourself when you get done?"

Click to expand...

He's back in the Regent and not happy about it but I had no choice. Unfortunately with the Complete Air back there, riding in the back isn't an option and I am driving alone 90% of the time.

mommy-medic said:

Can you lock the seatbelt? Buckle him in and pull the seatbelt all the way out and see if it locks as it retracts. That will limit his bending over/leaning but may not correct the slouching. It's worth a try.

Click to expand...

Locking latchplates with ELR only

I don't know how well he focuses on stuff that he enjoys, but have you tried giving him something to keep him occupied in the car? I have a wiggly one myself and am constantly looking for something to help stop the wiggles, leaning, etc...

If you've tried everything, and it absolutely doesn't work, and he's close to outgrowing the Regent, it might be time to start the process of fighting for medical insurance to pay for a special needs seat.

Nebraskamom: The distractions make the slouching worse.

Ketchupqueen: What other seats are there besides the Regent? Would I talk to his pediatrician about it or go straight to insurance?

My DD1 is now almost 9 and I've had similar difficulties with her. She is also particularly long torsoed and outgrew all available harnessed seats before she was 6. For a long while I used her booster in conjunction with an 86Y harness, which helped some. An even more restricting option would be a Ride Safer Travel Vest.

To be honest, things did not improve until we had her on a medication that worked for her. Unmedicated, she still can't sit properly. On a couple meds we tried, she was okay. On her current med (Vyvanse) she is doing pretty well. Remember that for kids like ours this is an issue with impulse control. It may very well be that he is just not capable of sitting properly. That being said, I'd look at a size large Ride Safer Travel vest before a special needs seat. Most special needs seats won't buy you very much more harness height, and the vest would last longer and be cheaper.

There are some that are taller than the Regent. EZ-On also has a wide range of vests for different needs.

I'd advise seeing if there's a tech near you who is special-needs trained, who could assist you in exploring the options, especially if they might know a program that would have different seats you could look at/try your child in. The RSTV is certainly a good one, but it won't last significantly longer by torso height than some of the taller special needs seats, and it's worth a try to see if your insurance will pay for one (depending on your co-pay it might end up being less money than paying for a vest out of pocket.)