Transportation.

Because Braden has difficulty walking for long periods of time, we have a specialized pediatric stroller for him. There are several features that must be in place in order for a stroller to meet the criteria for 'transit ready' status. The stroller MUST  have a 5 point restraint system in order to secure the child safely. 

5 Point restraint system.

As you can see there are straps that go over each shoulder, a crotch strap and two straps that go over the hips. These straps all MUST be fastened into a center buckle(see red tab) in order for a child to be safely restrained. Depending on the disability of the child there may be other necessary additions to the stroller such as lateral supports for posture, head supports etc.Without these straps being done up the child who seizures or has other physical disabilities could fall from the stroller during transport. When their body is not properly positioned they could also become a 'missile' in a school bus during a crash. 

This is the type of bus lift that Braden has on his school bus.

Over the past year Braden has come home from school on the bus, without his stroller straps being fastened on FOUR occasions!! Braden is taken off the bus using a mechanical lift that is several feet off the ground. The potential for injury if he were to fall forward and off the lift is mind boggling.Look at the picture above. How would you feel if your cild were to fal from this ramp?


I was very upset the first time, but when speaking with the teacher I was given assurances that it was a horrible mistake that would not be repeated. While I was upset and made it very clear to them how upset I was I also felt that I needed to try and see this as something that was a singular incident and that it wouldn't be repeated because I trusted these people to keep Braden safe.


Last January (around the same time he had the bruises pictured previously) he arrived home AGAIN with no straps fastened. This time I was extremely upset. I called and spoke to the vice principal and told him that this was inexcusable! I reiterated how dangerous this situation could be, and how outraged I was to have to be dealing with this again. Of course the administration made all the appropriate apologies and promises to me, ran through a check with the teacher and the CEA's and I was given assurances that the situation had been dealt with. I was frustrated but for some reason I decided to move forward. In retrospect I would have done things differently at that point, but hindsight is 20/20.


12 DAYS later....yes, as unbelievable as that is...it happened AGAIN!!! I was almost paralyzed with disbelief! I cannot even begin to describe the anger I was feeling. I probably uttered a lot of words that I won't type here. When I could breathe again I called the school and spoke to the vice principal. Of course there was concern and he assured me he would look into ...yeah I had heard that before! I told him that I was NOT sending Braden back to school until I could have assurance that he would be safe. I had lost trust in the staff and was not feeling at all confidant about any steps they had taken to ensure me that my son was safe.


I asked the vice principal a question, which would soon be answered in a terrible way for me. I said, "does a student have to get seriously injured before the staff takes safety issues seriously?"


I was told that there would be a meeting scheduled later that week between the teacher, myself, the vice principal AND the health nurse(another issue). By that time the staff would have some concrete strategies to present to me in order to ensure safety. Wow...what does it take? Why is this so damn difficult? The CEA's know what they are doing? Just get them to DO IT!! This isn't rocket science!