My Autistc son is getting out of his carseat

Aubs

New member

• Dec 8, 2012

• #1

http://www.mypreciouskid.com/car-seat-safety-clip.html

Ezra will NOT stay in his seat at all, he pushes the chest clip all the way down to the crotch buckle and then gets his arms out and that is how he sits in his seat till I have to pull over and put him back in only to have him out again before I am even back in the car. I am at my wits end and don't know what to do.

The school suggested putting duct tape on the chest clip to keep it in place but I know that is not safe so I don't want to do that. A friend sent me this link and from what I am reading it may work. Does anyone have any advice on this, is it safe? Does it actually clip in the the harness and keep it from moving down? He's 3 years old, 36lbs and 37inches tall. Thank you all so much if you can help!!!

 

K

Kaitsmom

New member

• Dec 8, 2012

• #2

No, not safe. Its going to prevent the chest clip from preforming as it should in a crash, opening or sliding down. That can cause injuries in a crash. Are his straps tight enough? Can you give him something to distract him in the car? What seat is he in?

 

Judi

CPST/Firefighter

• Dec 8, 2012

• #3

Can you button a shirt over the harness, or zip a sweatshirt? Also, try the hard side of velco. Good chance he will hate that.

 

aeormsby

New member

• Dec 8, 2012

• #4

I can't for the life of me find it right now. But there is a vest designed to be worn in the carseat that has slots for the straps & chest clip and is designed to keep kids from pushing the chest clip down.

I know there have been threads on it before and while in most cases it might not be suggested I don't think it causes any real interference with the straps and for a child who doesn't understand it may be a good solution.

ETA - found it: http://www.overstock.com/Baby/My-Gu...12283X698622Xc84816f599d150046ed64d58a5b30af0

 

J

joyride

Member

• Dec 9, 2012

• #5

Or you can get one of these: http://5pointplus.com

Meets europe ECE safety standards.

Joy

 

K

Kaitsmom

New member

• Dec 9, 2012

• #6

What car seat do you have?

I dont think the 5pount plus is a good option, its designed for European car seats, which dont have chest clips. It really looks like the chest clip would end up positioned way too high with that on.

 

D

D&L's-mommy

New member

• Dec 9, 2012

• #7

this is just a thought, when I was shopping for a harnessed seat for my DD I had both my kids try out the britax fronier 85, they could not move the chest clip on it because of the HUGS pads. My son is almost 9 (4'2" 72lbs) and is also autistic, he still fit in the frontier (with harness) and wouldn't touch the chest clip because he didn't like the feel of the HUGS pads. Maybe you could try him in a britax seat with HUGS pads and see if he'll leave it alone, or simply not be able to move it, it may result in a very unhappy child, but at least he's safe

 

Aubs

New member

• Dec 10, 2012

• #8

Thank you all for the information, he's in a Cosco Scenera right now but this is the second time I have been told about the Britix Frontier 85. I am just waiting on tax time to get a new seat and hope I can get it to fit in my car. I have the horrible car from hell when it comes to carseats.

Yesterday I made the really hard decision to turn his seat around to FF and my mommy guilt and fear are really weighing on my mind. I mean I know he's only a few lbs and inches away from being turned FF but I really wanted to wait till the last second. I am so scared that something is going to happen to him with him FF :crying:

 

D

D&L's-mommy

New member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #9

as a non-tech, but mom of an autistic child, at his age and size I'd be more comfortable being able to see what he's doing. Which is hard when they're rf. If he's getting out of his harness you will notice it much earlier if he's ff, and be able to pull over to fix it before he's totally out. Just my thought.Sometimes as moms, especially of special needs kids, it's hard to know what the best choice is

 

MommyShannon

New member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #10

We love our Frontiers but it will definitely vary by kid on if they can move the clip. It's harder, but my 5 and 7 year olds (not autistic) know to move the Hugs then the clip to move it. It might work at first but he may figure it out too. I think buttoning a shirt over it would work well.

 

MommyShannon

New member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #11

Here is a video to see how a shirt would work. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4f3gjicSdU&sns=em"]Winter Car Seat Safety part 2 of 2 - YouTube[/ame]
It's showing it for a coat, but a button up shirt would be the same.

 

Aubs

New member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #12

Ok so after much thought about this product;

http://www.overstock.com/Baby/My-Gua...d64d58a5b30af0

it came to me last night while I was reading that I could make that so that is what I did. I used an old t-shirt and a zipper so now we are using that. He has only been in it once and that was for our 1am trip to go get dad from work so he was sleeping so today will be the real test.

I am a bit worried cause it was not standard for the car seat but it has to be better than him sitting with his arms out of the straps. I can't pull over every second to put him back in. If I did we would never make it out of the driveway. I thought that facing him forward might put an end to it but he's still doing the same thing.

I am hoping that this will work for us till tax time and we can try to find a seat that will work for him.

 

F

flipper68

Senior Community Member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #13

Tax return purchase - except for the 40 lbs weight limit :

http://www.kiddyusa.com/kiddy-seats/kiddy-world-plus.html

 

E

EmmaGrace'sMom

New member

• Dec 12, 2012

• #14

What about putting harness pads below the chest clip so it can't be pushed down?

DD was pushing her chest clip down in the sitters car and we tried this, it worked to discourage her and redirect her attention...but she was 18mo old at the time.

 

christineka

New member

• Dec 19, 2012

• #15

Another option is the back zip ez-on harness.

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Dec 19, 2012

• #16

christineka said:

Another option is the back zip ez-on harness.

Click to expand...

Only issues with that are that the back-closing vest comes in seatbelt version, or floor mount. The seatbelt version, he'd still be able to reach around and unbuckle the belt (and be completely unrestrained.) The floor mount version requires that hardware be installed in the vehicle.