But on the school bus, the therapist’s role is to work with student transporters to take those same positioning techniques and make sure that the kids are comfortable and safe on the bus. Shutrump said occupational and physical therapists are also closely aligned with any child who has behavioral issues or sensory problems. “Tere are many more students riding the bus with severe behavior disorders, and it’s important to make sure that the therapist on the case helps the transportation department make sure the fit of any vest or harness is correct,” she added. She pointed out that research and development on wheelchair se-


curement and better tie-downs have determined where the strength of the wheelchair is, and what should be removed from the chair. “Te therapist can help with securement,” said Shutrump. “Also, the therapist needs to communicate with the bus driver or aide.” Tere has been a “hands-off” approach from many therapists, she said, and communication needs to exist for the proper teamwork, which will result in these students being as safe and comfortable as possible. For example, every piece of a wheelchair needs to be scrutinized. Shutrump said that equipment as simple as a foot strap needs to be in good repair. For a shoulder/lap belt used in conjunc- tion with tie-downs, she explained that the child has to be sitting upright for the belt to work properly, otherwise that child is going to submarine under the shoulder belt. If the shoulder and lap belt is too tight, it can cause pressure on parts of the body that can’t take that added stress. If the occupant restraint is too loose, it also doesn’t perform correctly. Shutrump also noted that wheelchairs need to be WC19 compli- ant, meaning they are crash tested to perform as a vehicle seat. On average, most school district budgets only allow them to purchase a new wheelchair approximately every five years. Once a chair is ordered by the therapist, Shutrump added, there can be very little retrofitting. Te therapist needs to know if the chair is working on the bus, so that they won’t make the same mistake ordering the next chair. Miriam Manary brings her expertise in crash-testing wheelchairs


to TSD and works closely with Shutrump. Manary is a child passen- ger safety expert and the senior engineering research assistant at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. She also chairs the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Soci- ety of North American’s Standards Committee on Wheelchairs and Transportation, and she is the co-chair of the SAE Child Restraint system committee. “A lot can go wrong if the wheelchair isn’t properly secured to the floor and if the lap belt isn’t on the top of the thighs,” Manary said. “People mistake the postural belts on the chair as something that will protect the child in a crash. Also, it can be very difficult to route the belt around an arm rest, for example. Tese are key issues in protecting students from falling out of the chair, or from the chair tipping over.” For the OT/PT/Transporter Forum, Chris Yarber from Q’Straint/


Sure-Lok provides Shutrump and Manary a wheelchair securement platform that the company uses for national training. Te Q’Straint QRT 360 and Sure-Lok TITAN 800 are the first four-point, heavy-duty and fully automatic retractable tie-downs built to with- stand the higher loads of the WC18 standard and be compatible with WC19 wheelchairs. Te company’s line of self-tensioning retractors automatically take up slack to ensure the wheelchair passenger is al-


Securing the Growing Pre-K Population


Attendees at the TSD Conference this month have the opportunity to brush up on their child securement skills, particularly for preschoolers and Head Start students. In January, Indiana became the first state


to enforce regulations requiring that all preschool students transported in school buses be restrained in child safety restraint systems. A year ago, Indiana State Director of Transportation Mike LaRocco received many inquiries from districts on how to comply. As reported in our January issue, he approached Charlie Vits on developing instructional mate- rials for districts. In addition to working for school bus


seating and occupant restraint manufacturer SafeGuard/IMMI, Vits also instructs the NHTSA eight-hour class for pre- kindergartners on school buses and serves as a member of the National Child Passenger Safety Board. The organization is responsible for overseeing the curriculum that is taught for certifying all child passenger safety technicians. While developing the Indiana materials,


Vits said he became even more aware of the needs among all those involved with transporting pre-k students on school buses to have a minimum level of training in child passenger safety. Vits worked with Denise Donaldson of Safe Ride News to develop a set of training videos that provide a basic education that could be considered a mini- mum requirement for anyone responsible for transporting a pre-K student. At TSD, Vits presents an overview of what


the National Child Passenger Safety Board is and their role in the training of all involved with child passenger safety. He will also de- scribe some of these basic training materials, free to all, along with what ongoing efforts are occurring to establish minimum training requirements for all those responsible for pre-k children in school buses.


www.stnonline.com 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76