Car seats

[Sarah L]

My son finds it difficult to be in the car. He is strong enough and bright enough to open all of the harnesses and buckles we have tried to date.

 

We have been recommended to use the Britax Traveller plus SI but at ?420 plus VAT. It feels like an expensive gamble on something that may or may not work.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this seat that they could share?

 

I am equally terrified that if we do not solve the problem that he may cause me to have an accident and get hurt in the process.

 

Help please. Sarah

[Bullet]

I'm not sure about the carseat, but are you eligible for the Family Fund Grant?

[Elouise]

My son finds it difficult to be in the car. He is strong enough and bright enough to open all of the harnesses and buckles we have tried to date.

 

We have been recommended to use the Britax Traveller plus SI but at ?420 plus VAT. It feels like an expensive gamble on something that may or may not work.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this seat that they could share?

 

I am equally terrified that if we do not solve the problem that he may cause me to have an accident and get hurt in the process.

 

Help please. Sarah

 

Nathan , having caused me to crash my car when he escaped from his carseat to play 'peekabo' on me at 60mph quickly had the seat before this one.

 

Its large it takes up a seat and a half. Thats fine if you only have two kids to put in the back of a car but a pain for more than two.

It can fit in the front of the car but again you need to ensure fun things like the gear lever, handbrake and so on are not within grab distance.

 

Nathan did my blasted head in in the car. It was the only place he came to life and he was a complete deranged muppet, it was like travelling with a cross between a baby gorilla and a red setter.

 

This company where BRILLIANT, they came and measured my car advised on seats and fitted a special 'hyperactive' harness to stop Nathan escaping in the seat itself. Britax just sent someone over who wanted to sell me the seat and could not advise if it was okay for my car.

 

Mercia Safety Centre Ltd

Warboro Farm Henley Road

Hampton-On-The-Hill

Warwick

CV35 8QX

Warwickshire

Tel: 01926 411388

 

OR the other place offering specialised advice on fitting specialist seats.

In-Car Safety Centre

Unit 5,

The Auto Centre,

Stacey Bushes,

Milton Keynes.

MK12 6HS

 

Tel: (01908) 220909

 

Sam *aka* hyperactive buddle of fun had a Concord Trimax seat instead. Lighter cheaper and easier to fit into cars. Annie has the trimax now and sam has the Concord Prolift.

Nathan is now a huge adult who drools away in the front seat still being a red setter but at least he has stopped chasing after cars like ferraris the minute I break at the red lights.

 

Securon make webbed harnesses that can be bolted into the car if a seat is unwise or too small.

 

You could also contact RoSPA for info on who makes seats suitable for special needs; it is not just Britax.

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/links/manufacturers.htm

 

Hope that helps as I have been there and had to chase info from scratch myself.

[nellie]

Sarah,

 

Sorry, I've had no experience of this car seat but wonder if a harness would be suitable and cheaper. This company produces harnesses for disabled children of all ages.

 

http://www.crelling.com/harness.php

 

Nellie xx

[Elouise]

PS.

 

http://www.safetyfirstsales.com/child_special.html

 

And you can claim back the VAT if your child is registered disabled.

 

The Crelling Hyperactive harness is a challenge even for the houdinis.

[katkin]

I would certainly recommend the crelling harness, their "houdini" one is great. One word of caution on this is that friends who have one have laminated the release instructions and fastened them to the inside of the car by the seat. In case of accident and someone needs to get the child out quickly - horrible thought but worth thinking about. Sometimes social services will cough up for a crelling harness, accessing the community and the disabled persons right to do so etc. Worth asking anyway. They will send you a catalogue and give advice over the phone too. Love Kat

[Elouise]

I would certainly recommend the crelling harness, their "houdini" one is great. One word of caution on this is that friends who have one have laminated the release instructions and fastened them to the inside of the car by the seat. In case of accident and someone needs to get the child out quickly - horrible thought but worth thinking about. Sometimes social services will cough up for a crelling harness, accessing the community and the disabled persons right to do so etc. Worth asking anyway. They will send you a catalogue and give advice over the phone too. Love Kat

 

Just going to add that all firservice rescue vehicles carry a special tool to rip through harnesses as after a RTA its often not possible to release safety catches that have ceased on ordinary car seat belts, it goes along with the rest of the rescue kit they carry to release people from cars.

 

Having a sticker warning rescuers that the person they are rescuing is autistic and may NOT be pleased to see yet someone else scary looking after the fright of an accident is a darn good idea though.

Nathan BIT the nice ambulance men after he walked through a sheet of glass because they needed to look at what he had done and he did not feel co-operative.

Autism West Midlands does a special 'alert card' for emergency services. Might be worth asking NAS or local groups if they have a similar alert card too.

[nellie]

If you look at the Crelling price list on their site, you will see there is a..........

 

Safety Knife The 'Emergency Seat Belt Slicer' It's both safe and practical for cutting webbing straps.........................Cat No SK ?10.50

 

 

http://www.crelling.com/harness.php