Child w/ autism unbuckling Nauti chest clip and escaping...??

[mommycat]

I tried doing a search but didn't find much beyond velcro on the clip, butting over the harness or a backwards shirt. I will suggest the velcro but the child can do buttons and is old enough to pull off or lift up a shirt, so I'm not sure that's a solution. Am I missing something? Any new suggestions?

Does Graco allow use without the chest clip in special needs cases and would this even allow the harness to tighten enough to keep the arms in the harness?

Apparently the family tried flipping the chest clip over to no avail, and with the Nauti this wouldn't really work and would make me worry about injury.

I would like to help them use the seat first rather than moving towards the E-Z-On right away. They are getting a harness for the school bus for the fall, so I guess they could get fitted for a car harness as well, but not sure what the cost/coverage would be.

Please help!

 

[werforpsu]

How old is the child? are they looking for a new special needs seat or are they wanting to find an adapter that can make the seat they have work?

this seat looked promising depending on the age and unbuckling abilities of the child http://www.adaptivemall.com/remoreadcars.html

Also, there are covers that go over the seat belt buckle, if the child is developmentally able to be in a seat belt without the harness...http://www.mypreciouskid.com/seat-belt-cover-angel-guard.html

I hope this helps. give a bit more info about the child's age and development and I am sure lots of people will have ideas

 

[mommycat]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

The child is only 4, possibly just turned 5. I helped them just this February with some tips, biggest of which was to upgrade an outgrown seat to a Nautilus. The child has room to grow in the harness, so it would be nice to make the seat work. Thankfully so far it is just the chest clip and not the crotch buckle that is the issue. A call to Graco confirmed that they do not allow using the seat without the chest clip.

The child was well over 40lbs and probably tall enough for a booster, but considering that the child is wiggling out of the harness I am thinking this child is not ready to sit in a booster even if the buckle was protected from being unbuckled. I can't recall for certain but I think that the seatbelts lock at the buckle not retractor.

I should also mention that we are in Canada; I don't think the seat you linked to is approved here. IIRC our options for taller/heavier riders are Traveller Plus and E-Z-On harness?

I don't know enough about the development of the child or how to assess it but they are starting the child in school in September. Compliance to directions didn't seem to be bad in the one meeting we had, but apparently not enough to leave the harness alone based on reminders.

 

[werforpsu]

Well, from what I can see in pictures, the traveller plus doesn't help the chest clip issue and it is incredibly expensive. the EZ on vest would help the issue with the chest clip and it is less expensive, but they still don't get to keep the child in the GN which is unfortunate after buying it.

there is the rider safe travel vest, which is even less expensive then the EZ on. it is not specifically for children with special needs and it does have buckles, it would just depend on if the buckles can be undone by the child. I also don't know anything about the legality of the RSTV in canada. i don't have any first hand experience with the RSTV regarding the mobility of the child when they are in it. it might allow too much movement for a special needs child who cannot control his movements on his own.

I threw an email at an OT co-worker and I will see what she says. she is also the mother of an ASD child so she might have a suggestion.

 

[mommycat]

Thanks for sending the email. I don't think the RSTV would be legal here in Canada, so I can't really recommend it if there are other options. I should arrange to meet with them again but right now it's not possible.

 

[mylittlet]

The rsvt is not allowed in Canada. Sorry. I also don't really have any ideas either.

 

[mommycat]

"Borrowing" from another thread so I can find it later.... Thanks for another suggestion, Kat!

If that doesn't work - another thing you can do is to get a velcro strap and wrap the chest clip up. This will delay a Houdini and more importantly - you will HEAR the velcro - so you will know when it's time to pull over and have said "chat".

 

[ketchupqueen]

If it's a persistant problem in multiple seats I usually start talking about contacting EZ-On (which is an option in Canada, with a prescription) for a floor-mount harness.