Special Needs Car Seats.

[BigWeeHag]

Hello again!

Does anyone have a car seat with a harness for over 18kg? DS1 is not safe in a HBB with adult belt, because he is a toad and will not sit still. I think a harness makes him feel more secure (sensory issues) by providing pressure on his chest, so he is less boingy.

The only ones I can find are £400 odd, which I do not have, and have no mission of getting! OT don't do them apparently. Any tips? Or experiences?
Thanks xx

if you search "special needs car seats" on Ebay there are two Britax traveller plus on just now, both used though

we use a britax HBB for dd1, and use a crelling harness as well. they do a number of different harnesses, depending on your ds' needs, and are really lovely and helpful too.

since we got dd1's harness peace (well, when she isn't squabbling with her sister ) has been restored to car journeys, as she is once mmore in a 5-point set up and cannot wriggle out form under the seat belt!

Your options seem to be:

• get a SN seat. Yes, they are expensive, but you can get charity funding for them; ours was 100% funded. There will be some local org who can help you with that (the charities are as often local ones as national ones); try SS OT (good at spending other people's money), local branch of Carer's UK, local SN support groups. Our hospice is immensely helpful with that sort of thing.
• get a Crelling or similar harness to put over your standard booster. The issue with that is (as seen on another thread) that the harness passes under the booster, between the back and base of the back seat, and up again past the headrest. Some cars don't have the necessary gap between back and base of the rear seat.
• er. Cheat. We have jerry rigged an arrangement which keeps DD1 in a standard booster. It involves a (quick release) strip of webbing fixed to the strap guide on the "free" shoulder and clipping round the seatbelt. So the seatbelt and this bit of webbing look like a v-neck jumper iyswim. That's enough to stop her wiggling out though I appreciate it might not hold another child.

The Britax Junior traveller is good to 25kg and much, much cheaper at about £120 than the traveller plus. DS1 is about to graduate his and we'll use it for DS2, now, since he has a penchant for wriggling out of the harness on his current seat and is getting close to 18kg, anyhow.

We have a Carrott carseat, sold by JCM (see their website) V. expensive though so we had to get help (about £1000). Well worth it though, my DD has no head control but this sits her up lovely, and will last up to age 8.

google crellings harnesses,