New car seat speeds up Finley's nursery trip

Finley Monks from New Springs has autistic spectrum disorder and as a result has no awareness of danger. He loves speed, but when the family car slowed and stops he would release himself from his car seat, putting himself and others at risk.

Mum Lisa said: “Finley didn’t just do this occasionally, it was every time we slowed or stopped...at traffic lights, road junctions, roundabouts. The 20-minute journey to nursery could take 40 to 50 minutes and we got to the stage where we would only take him out in the car if it was really necessary. I could never travel alone with him – there would always have to be someone else sitting in the back seat with Finley.”

Finley is already the size of an average five-year-old, so an added concern was that his standard car seat was too small for him. Lisa said: “It is only since we got his new, specialist car seat that we have realised how uncomfortable he must have been before.”

With the right equipment costing £665 and no funding available, Lisa was advised to apply to Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children, a charity provider of equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness.

Finley’s new, larger seat and harness – which he can’t undo himself – is now giving Lisa peace of mind. She said: “Finley did try to undo the chest clip on the new harness at first, but now he has realised he can’t release himself he has stopped trying. The new seat has additional head support and padding and he likes to snuggle into it. As a result he is more content – and it makes life so much easier for the rest of the family.”