Hypothetical problem

Kobain's Mommy

Well-known member
DS will be 3 in May, he's 37-38lbs and 38". FFing in DHs truck(98 Ram),my dad's truck(03 Ram), and my mom's car(PT Cruiser). He's still RFing in my van(05 Caravan), which he's in the most. DD is about 17 months 22-23lbs and 28-29". DS will be staring preschool in June through the school system. He was just diagnosed with Autism, so we are starting him first session after he turns 3. He will be riding the bus. I'd prefer to get a cheap seat for him that we buy ourselves. The cheaper the better, because I won't care much if something happens to it. Also we have signed DS up for a grant that would provide 10-25 hours a week of ABA therapy. The guy that came to talk to us said DS is a good fit for the program, just waiting on the clinic to get the report done so we can get approved and start. When we talked to the guy he mentioned they prefer parents to provide a seat for the therapist just in case, to take him on trips, or take him to his speech or OT if we need them to. I also would like to have at least one seat as a back up at home. Just in case someone wants to take on of the kids or we need it for another child. Also I'm a little OCD about matching seats. I also have Cherry Pie for my CCOs.

Seats
CA65(blue)-Dad's truck for DD
CA65(Red)- Mom's car for DS
CA65LX(Rio)- Back up seat
Maestro(green/brown)- Dad's truck for DS
CCO(pink)- Mom's car for DD
CCO(green)- Back up
MA70(crimson)-my van for DS
SR32(rattenhouse)- my van for DD
RA50(cow)-In DH's truck for DD no plans to move
FR85(cow)- In DH's truck for DS no plans to move


Brain Storming...
Dad's Truck-(rarely ride in but installed for emergencies)
Maestro- DS
CCO(green)- DD
DH's Truck-(once a week in)
RA50-DD
FR85-DS
Mom's Car-(twice a week in)
CA65(blue)- DS
CCO(pink)- DD
My Van-This summer I'd like to get a FR85(or FR90) for my van for DS then give DD the MA70.
MA70- DS
SR32- DD
Therapist's car-
CA65(red)
Spare Seat-
CA65LX
School Bus-
??? Going to contact SafeKids and see if I can buy one of their program seats for this.
 
ADS

MommyShannon

New member
Since these won't be with your other seat, I'd forget matching and buy SureRides for all the extra seats. Its cheaper and will last longer than anything else ff. Then all your spares will match.
ETA:besides buying lots of Frontiers I mean.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
What stuck out to me was the going on trips with the therapist.

Why would they do that first of all and secondly what kind of vehicle would they transport in?

My ds goes to all different kinds of speech, ot, and behavioral and no one drives him anywhere. Would it be like group field trips or what?
 

Kobain's Mommy

Well-known member
What stuck out to me was the going on trips with the therapist.

Why would they do that first of all and secondly what kind of vehicle would they transport in?

My ds goes to all different kinds of speech, ot, and behavioral and no one drives him anywhere. Would it be like group field trips or what?

That therapist is an ABA one. They will be working with him 10-25 hours a week depending on what he's approved for. They come to our house to work with him. But if I need them to take him to speech or OT they will. Plus they will take him on field trips so to speak to help him with social interactions. Most likely dd and I will go with, but in the off chance she's got a dr apt or not feeling well enough to go. ABA is an intense therapy. We won't know what they drive until they start. When we talked to the program representative he said in most cases they become part of the family.
 

momtoo3

Well-known member
When I saw the bus it had car seats buckled in. He'll be on the school districts special needs bus. And the seats on it were the Cosco ffing seats. And a couple over head shield seats.

I would try to request a STAR seat. Have it written into his IEP if you can. Ds3 goes to our district preschool (special needs) and I had it included in his IEP. His bus has a mix of Cosco FF combination seats and STAR seats. The Combo seats are not all installed correctly and many are leaning quite a bit. Most of the kids are just in the lapbelt and laying sideways sleeping when ds3 gets off :(. If the district has STAR seats and it is in the IEP they have to use one. I had no idea if our district had them until I called and asked.
 

gsdguenter

Well-known member
At least in NJ, you can request that a child be in a Starseat in their IEP. Then if its not followed they can get in a lot of trouble.

C and D were too small for the starseats at the beginning of the school year, then during IEP review we set that up!

I had it put in both LO's IEPs that they had to he transported in a patent provided CR. I purchased a STAR seat. DD1 used it in pre-k last year. Now she is in K and I'm ok with get without a seat. DD2 is in pre-k this year and uses the STAR seat. She'll also use it next year for her 2nd yr of pre-k. I figured for me, it was worth it to purchase one and get 3 yrs of use out of it.

My girls ride a small special ed bus (still one of the yellow school buses though, not a van) and there are 2 other STAR seats and 1 car seat installed as well. Not sure if the district or the patents paid for them though.
 

mominabigtruck

New member
My ds always rode in a star seat until he got bigger than I had put in that he required a seatbelt.

Of course he's not allowed on the bus anymore so its a moot point:(
 

nannykates

New member
I've been an aba therapist for children with autism and have been loving someone with autism since I was 3 years old. I would second the sure ride for the therapist. With an autism diagnosis extended harnessing is very likely the best plan. I wish your family all the best, feel free to ask me questions you may have, I'll try to point you in the direction of answers if I don't have them.
 

farrbabies

New member
Sorry to side track a little. I'm so jealous that you get 10-25 hours a week of Aba therapy. I have three kids all diagnosed In the last 2.5 years and I get one hour once a week that happens for 8 weeks and the wait time is over a year. So they each get 8 hours of Aba therapy every 16-18 months. Oh and I do not get in home therapy either. And I drive them to their appointments.
 

Kobain's Mommy

Well-known member
I've been an aba therapist for children with autism and have been loving someone with autism since I was 3 years old. I would second the sure ride for the therapist. With an autism diagnosis extended harnessing is very likely the best plan. I wish your family all the best, feel free to ask me questions you may have, I'll try to point you in the direction of answers if I don't have them.

Thanks! I plan on keeping him harnessed as long as possible. He's high functioning, but has his meltdown moments. He's got SPD, seeker, and loves the tightness of the harness.

Sorry to side track a little. I'm so jealous that you get 10-25 hours a week of Aba therapy. I have three kids all diagnosed In the last 2.5 years and I get one hour once a week that happens for 8 weeks and the wait time is over a year. So they each get 8 hours of Aba therapy every 16-18 months. Oh and I do not get in home therapy either. And I drive them to their appointments.

Our insurance just started covering it, but the program we are going through is a state grant one. A lot of the state funded therapies come to the child's house or daycare. They found children are most successful in their "home" involvement and are more comfortable. We are very thankful for that!

I would try to request a STAR seat. Have it written into his IEP if you can. Ds3 goes to our district preschool (special needs) and I had it included in his IEP. His bus has a mix of Cosco FF combination seats and STAR seats. The Combo seats are not all installed correctly and many are leaning quite a bit. Most of the kids are just in the lapbelt and laying sideways sleeping when ds3 gets off :(. If the district has STAR seats and it is in the IEP they have to use one. I had no idea if our district had them until I called and asked.

We haven't done his IEP yet. We were going to do it last week, but didn't have the diagnosis from the clinic yet. They want to have that to give him focus on the "autism" to get him various diffrent stuff through the school system. I'll get the STAR seat put into it. I was already planning on having proper HARNESSED seat that fits him and is not expired.

I was totally game on helping, and then I saw your list of seats (that are matching!) and my head started spinning. :p

My backup, bus, therapist seats don't have to match :p just the ones in the 4 vehicles.
 

sparkle3116

New member
When I drove a special needs bus (small bus) some of the kids (mostly early intervention) were in FF car seats (or EZ-on harnesses) of various kinds. We (the bus drivers) installed them ourselves and parents were supposed to bring their child onto the bus and buckle them in themselves.

I never had a parent bring a car seat--they all belonged to the school district (which in our case ran transportation, but I know some districts contract it out, which might be a more challenging situation).

You (or someone you trust) should definitely get on the bus with your DS every day and buckle him in (and double-check the seat install).

The school district I worked for has since switched from car seats to all Safeguard STAR harnesses and it's much easier for everyone.

Great idea to get the STAR Harness written into his IEP!
 

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