Today DS made a mockery of a car seat assessment...

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

They had brought in their two harnesses that it is impossible for a child to escape from.

It took him 4 seconds to escape from the first one entirely and ten to get his top half completely free of the second one before pressing the release button behind him with a flourish and throwing whole thing on the floor!

One staff member rang the two manufacturers for advice. They didn't beleive her; said their products had never been escaped from before.

They are consulting a collegaue in Sweden now and getting back to us.

Meanwhile we'll make do with our doubled- over back-to-front five point harness and luggage strap that gives our OT nightmares!

This assessment was privately arranged and (fortunately) paid for by Motorbility. We knew it would be useless as soon as we laid eyes on the harnesses. It was obvious they were no match for our modern-day Houdini.

DH and I burst out laughing when we came out. I suppose it's not really funny but DS was so pleased with himself in an almost-bored kind of way. I think it must be that a child with his kind of needs is not supposed to be physically able enough to do these things?? But I'm sure there must be lots of perfectly physically able (which DS is NOT actually) children on the autistic spectrum (which DS isn't either) who can do this too!

I (a normal (ish! mum) could design something to restrain DS but apparently it would breach his human rights and not get through the risk assessment procedure!

Bah!!

[Mamazon]

Ds has always managed to escape car seat harness'

i now fashion my own too. not sure i would pass a risk assesment or some health and safety crackdown but he sure don't escape when he has it on.

and funnily enough mine uses teh clasp from a luggae strap too!

[Seuss]

That is very funny! I wonder if the solution they come up with will involve a luggage strap?

[misdee]

OMG lol!!!

maybe you could combine a straightjacket with a car seat harness, and see if he can escape that? if he can , then call some talent shows and make some money to invent an even more complex harness

i am giggling that they didnt believe her though.

are you sure you dont have a modern day superhero there?

[r3dh3d]

Luggage strap?

What a good idea!

Give me more details.....?

[Glitterknickaz]

"would breach his human rights"

what about his right to survival in an accident ffs!!!!

omg that was a bit Daily Mail wasn't it

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

We have same problem with the wheelchair service. DH and I really lost our rags with them 2 weeks ago when they started banging on about their risk assessments again This was was the day after DS had launched himself from his wheelchair, while I paused outside the chip shop to wait for DD who was buying chips, and he almost fell into the path of a moving car. A chippy bloke ran from the shop (he'd been stacking a fridge full of drinks just inside door) and caught him! He saw what was happening before I did as I took my attention off DS (and his hands!) for 2 seconds to instruct DD about what money to get out (she's 9..)

And it was the week after DS unsnapped his wheelchair harness at the zoo, going down a very steep hill, fell out, scudded down the hill on his face/front and DH actually ran him over with the wheelchair!

Their risk assessments prevent them from supplying anything not easily undoable in the event of fire or other emergency.

I said "BUT SURELY YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT STATISTICAL LIKELYHOOD??! The likelyhood of DS getting run down by a car is a DAILY risk - the likelyhood of needing to carry him from a burning building is FAR LESS!! YOU MUST SEE WHAT WE'RE SAYING!!!!"

They said they did but they are prevented from supplying what we need by the law which protects them from being sued.

Bah again.

The wheelchair is the biggest problem because the luggage strap solution doesn't work so well in as DS is more able to twist and turn than in the car seat.

And he has hypermobile joints so can wiggle out of the things he can't undo.

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

I emailed Top Gear last year to challenge them to produce a car sear that DS couldn't (And once his top half's free he can interfere with the driver - driving without another person/child present is very scary but we have to do it sometimes.)

No reply. I suppose a disabled child isn't very viewer friendly to be honest.

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

• should say "couldn't at least free his top half from.."

[anonandlikeit]

Shiny what organisation is it that has a development dept? My memory is crap
Feldglings or CEREBRA? perhaps you could challenge them/

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

Not cure.. don't Fledglings only act as middle-men for products?

Who are you? (Well you're anon so I guess you won't say, sorry )

I will look at Cerebra..

[jimjamshaslefttheyurt]

Is he skinny? DS1 can get out of so called impossible to escape from harnesses etc because he's so skinny. He sort of twists his way out.

We're having the same problem with seat belts etc at the moment. He climbs out in order to pinch me. I spend my whole time in the car shouting at him to keep his seat belt on.

If you find something that works let me know.

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

Not really JimJams. He is average-ish size/weight for an 8 year old really but with lots and lots of uncoordinated upper body strength!

[anonandlikeit]

I've been about for a while but ds1(nt age8) started telling everybody in our very very small town & at their village school that I go on MN & my name is ........max.
So just thought i'd better use something else for a while .

[littleredcorvette]

I don't post often (more of a lurker) but have you tried this website:
www.bath.ac.uk/bime/about_BIME.htm

[HairyMaclary]

HAve to feed the children so just going to post and run
MERU here are apparnetly good at this sort of thing. I dn't know how the funding works though. Laurence Llewellyn Bowen's father set it up and he is now the patron.