just2Bjulie
New member
DS has mild/moderate autism. He is 4.5 yrs old but as big as a 6-yr-old. Currently we have him still in a 5-point car seat. He has started a new school and is transported there in a 15-passenger van. He also does in-home therapy and sometimes the therapist takes him into the community for his sessions.
So my concerns are two-fold. First, in the van, they have backless boosters. I think that DS is pretty good at sitting in his seat. They have an aide that sits somewhere in the van so I suppose she keeps an eye on him to make sure he stays put. But I'm concerned about the shoulder strap--I don't know if it's too high. I'm not terribly familiar with backless booster guidelines, but isn't that one of the main concerns? That the shoulder strap isn't too high up on his neck? How can I know if it's at the right position?
Second, for the community "field trips" that DS goes on, I need to buy a new booster seat that can easily go in and out of various therapists' cars. Right now we're lugging his heavy car seat and strapping it in and it just isn't practical. One concern I have is that the therapists aren't necessarily trained on how to install car seats and safely buckle the kids. I can show them how, but I never know if they really "get it." The therapists are usually young college students who haven't had children of their own or have ever been concerned with car seat safety. Additionally, sometimes they do group activities with other kids/other therapists. Quite often they will transfer the car seat from one therapist's car to the other so they can more easily make their next appointment. That's okay with me, except I can only hope they installed the seat right.
So I was thinking that a booster--high back or backless--would be easier to explain and use safely. Plus it would be lighter and easier to transfer. But in looking at some of the high back boosters they seem to be quite lunky--the Monterey, the Recaro Pro, the Frontier--all the ones for tall kids--seem like they'd be difficult to transfer. The Parkway seems more do-able. Any opinions? What about a backless? That's the ultimate in ease, but is it safe?
TIA,
Julie
So my concerns are two-fold. First, in the van, they have backless boosters. I think that DS is pretty good at sitting in his seat. They have an aide that sits somewhere in the van so I suppose she keeps an eye on him to make sure he stays put. But I'm concerned about the shoulder strap--I don't know if it's too high. I'm not terribly familiar with backless booster guidelines, but isn't that one of the main concerns? That the shoulder strap isn't too high up on his neck? How can I know if it's at the right position?
Second, for the community "field trips" that DS goes on, I need to buy a new booster seat that can easily go in and out of various therapists' cars. Right now we're lugging his heavy car seat and strapping it in and it just isn't practical. One concern I have is that the therapists aren't necessarily trained on how to install car seats and safely buckle the kids. I can show them how, but I never know if they really "get it." The therapists are usually young college students who haven't had children of their own or have ever been concerned with car seat safety. Additionally, sometimes they do group activities with other kids/other therapists. Quite often they will transfer the car seat from one therapist's car to the other so they can more easily make their next appointment. That's okay with me, except I can only hope they installed the seat right.
So I was thinking that a booster--high back or backless--would be easier to explain and use safely. Plus it would be lighter and easier to transfer. But in looking at some of the high back boosters they seem to be quite lunky--the Monterey, the Recaro Pro, the Frontier--all the ones for tall kids--seem like they'd be difficult to transfer. The Parkway seems more do-able. Any opinions? What about a backless? That's the ultimate in ease, but is it safe?
TIA,
Julie