reaching the marketplace, as therapists and medical prescribers say that it is nearly impossible to find a wheelchair-anchored lap belt. Te RESNA Committee on Wheelchairs and
Transportation (COWHAT) chaired by Manary addressed the concern at its most recent meeting in June. It invited Sue Shutrump, the supervisor of OT/ PT services at Trumbull County Educational Services Center in Ohio, to relate to several wheelchair manu- facturers in attendance her experience and frustration about not being able to order these lap belts. Manary said the manufacturers responded that they indeed offer the option but there is low de- mand from consumers and prescribers. Shutrump believed that the demand is not there because many therapists, caregivers and school district representa- tives simply don’t know what to ask for. “Wheelchair manufacturers are not making it an easier by saying, ‘Oh, we have these,’ but not mar- keting them or making them readily available to customers,” said Shutrump, a member of the TSD Conference Tenured Faculty. “It takes a great deal of teamwork on the part of the tie-down manufac- turers, the therapists that are ordering the chairs, and transporters that are utilizing both to be able to truly have the whole unit crash tested and used properly in conjunction with one another.” At the TSD Conference this month, Manary and
Shutrump will be part of a panel that will discuss this and other challenges facing student transporters and school therapists during the March 15 OT/PT Forum. “If you are a transportation person and just want- ed to go out and buy a piece of equipment good luck,” said Shutrump. Shutrump added that WC19-compliant wheel- chairs are easy to spot, as they not only have a label but also four tie down securement brackets. But do they have the optional lap belts? “Te new revision requires the lap belt anchored
52 School Transportation News • MARCH 2016
to the wheelchair so you can take just the shoulder belt and attach it to the lap belt,” she said. “Tat’s the part wheelchair manufacturers are not provid- ing. Te wheelchair also needs to be crash tested with this new lap belt.” School Transportation News was unsuccessful
in reaching several wheelchair manufacturers for comment, but a review of several price lists for WC19-compliant wheelchairs failed to uncover the optional wheelchair-anchored, lap-belt option. Chris Yarber, Q’Straint Southeast regional sales manager, is also participating in the OT/PT Forum and said he will have on hand a WC-compliant wheelchair with the crash-tested, wheelchair-an- chored lap belt so attendees can see what they need to be ordering. While Q’Straint and sister company Sure-Lok
don’t manufacture wheelchairs, they are in the business of securing students in wheelchairs and the wheelchairs in transit vehicles. Te two are leading the charge in advocating for the new standards and to get the word out about the optional wheel- chair-anchored lap belts. In the meantime, student transporters and therapists are eagerly awaiting the option, one that Manary added she is hopeful becomes more readily available soon. But the demand must originate from those who want them. “We know that there are situations where a wheel- chair-anchored belt does not work well for people, but it is important to have a choice,” said Manary.
“With other safety improvements, the pediatric realm has been the first adopters. If there is any sector that can generate this change, it is the school transportation sector.” Added Shutrump: “Te crux of this whole thing is that transporters need to keep pushing people and working as a group to demand these optional lap belts.” l
Top left: A crash test of a scooter without the new, optional wheelchair-anchored lap belt. Above: A wheelchair with the new anchored lap belt is crash tested to meet WC18 and WC19.
Did You Know?
Scooters are increasing in popularity with students and families because they can carry with them less stigma and are typically less expensive than wheelchairs. Is your operation prepared to transport them?
PHOTOS COURTESY: THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE.
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