asd tall child

U

Unregistered

Guest
question: My 4 year old daughter diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is already 48+ inches tall, but only @45lbs. I would like to find a good quality car seat that will accomodate her height for as long as possible using a harness. the harnes is important not only for crash safety but just to keep her seated. Her daily driver is an 07 honda accord. I am not a guru so please refer to complete names. ie. Frontier = Britax Frontier. I was wondering was does a person with a special needs kid do when the kid is huge(teen size) but still needs to be restrained. Specialty company? I don't know if I will have to deal with this but then again I just may considering her growth rate. Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
 
ADS

Pixels

New member
The Britax Frontier 85 is the tallest non-special needs harness seat currently available. Other mainstream options include the E-Z On Products 86Y or the Ride Safer Travel Vest by Safe Traffic Systems. E-Z On also makes vests with special needs in mind; if there are escape issues, one of them might be right.

Actually, looking closer at the sizing of the RSTVs, she is sort of in between sizes. The Small is the proper size right now, but she'll be out of it by height in the not too distant future.

There are also special needs seats that are booster seats with positioning harnesses. The harness is there to keep the child in position, but then the seat belt is doing the actual crash restraint just like a booster seat. That's for the future; as long as she fits in a mainstream restraint, use one.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
What's her torso height? What does she currently ride in? Our dd is 4y, 48# and 43". She is all torso, but has growing room in the britax frontier. Our ds is 5y, 58# and 48" and on the 2nd to top slot of the frontier.
 

flipper68

Senior Community Member
Torso height is the main issue. Measure her from bum to shoulder when seated on the floor. With a little luck, she's all leg and will therefore fit in a "standard" CR for quite some time. Height limits are less strict than weight limits on seats: the "final answer" is whether the harness is at or above the child's shoulders and/or the tops of the child's ears are below the top of the car seat shell (which ever comes first). If these are both true, then you're fine. As the child's shoulders move toward being level with the top harness slot and/or her ears are at the top of the shell, it's time for a new seat.

There are techs who have taken an additional class in child passenger safety for kids with special needs. You can search the link below for a tech with special needs training in your area.

https://ssl13.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbza...tegory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=safekidscertSQL

Many (certainly not all) special needs techs work as OT/PT's. In addition, some children's hospitals and rehab clinics have special needs "fitting stations," where you can see special needs seats in real life AND have a trained tech help you choose one that best fits your child, your vehicle, and your needs.

Car seats for kids and teens with special needs are as PP mentioned, vests or belt position boosters with additional support. There are also several that are oversized car seats with 5 pt restraints. Below are links to a couple of manufacturers/distributors of both vests and seats:

http://www.adaptivemall.com/safetycarseats1.html

http://eztether.com/

http://www.columbiamedical.com/special-needs-disabilities-products-categories.asp?SubCategoryID=5

http://www.ezonpro.com/index.shtml

If you haven't already experienced this, you need to know when something is labeled "special needs," it automatically doubles or triples in cost. Because of this, some health insurance plans may help pay for a SN seats as "durable medical equipment." (Some durable medical equipment distributors have experience with special needs car seats, but many do not.)

You will need letters from DD physician and therapists indicating the need for a SN seat. This is NOT something that happens overnight. In many cases, the insurance company will deny the request 1-2 times (requiring new documentation and "letters of medical necessity" each time) before ultimately agreeing to pay for the seat. Because of this, it is really important to start the purchase process well before DD has outgrown whatever seat she is using. You will need the time to select a seat and then get the required letters, documentation and approval from insurance before ordering.
 

ShadowLark

New member
Thanks for those links! My son is a peanut, I won't need the info for a LONG time, but he also has ASD and he's 4 1/2. (For reference, he also still fits ff in a Scenera and the ONLY reason he doesn't fit in it rf is because it's the older model and has the 1" rule! TINY!!!!!)
I'm hoping to switch him to a vest eventually, but for now he has the TFP I bought for his baby sister. (Doc said 90th percentile for height. Don't know WHAT he was smoking - she's 30 inches tall now at 12 1/2 months old! JUST at the second slot in the MyRide rf, so he can have the TFP. I will have to keep an eye on his weight. For the first time in his life, he might be outgrowing a seat by weight rather than height rf. He's 32 lbs. :)) I absolutely LOVE that seat! Someone mentioned fourth slots for the harness and I was like "what? Where?" and then I found them. He has MILES of room in this seat! Especially since the third slot is actually still above his shoulders rf! (Made that mistake ONCE, then I moved them right down.) The 3 1/2 year old still fits comfortably in her MyRide rf (used to be his). And we have the Scenera installed ff for a friend who sometimes rides with us so our daughter (and son, technically) can decide if they want to ride ff or not. Brendon LOVES rf in the TFP. I love that he still fits! And TONS of leg room, which he didn't have rf in the MyRide. LOVE that seat!
 

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