Anybody here use a harness on an older child? How much do they run for? Where did you get it? What do you like / dislike about it? I am seriously concidering a harness for nick. He doesn't "run away" but i have had situations where he will wander out of the area especially in walmart, he will wander down the isle when i am busy looking for something. thanks in advance..
I like the one from target that is an eddie bauer one it is shaped like a puppy or bear. It seems to work on my five year old he's 70 pounds. I think I only paid like 20 dollars for the ones I bought. The one thing I dislike about it is the piece on the back where the backpack and teether meet is plastic so if one day he pulls hard enough it will break. This is another place I looked at harnesses and will probably consider one from them in the next year. http://www.mypreciouskid.com/child-harness.html or http://www.angelfire.com/in2/dandee/index_files/Page475.htm
I LOVE the harness...and so does Ali! I got the Eddie Bauer one from target as well. Since she tries to run away it helps, especially in crowded places. The ONLY problem I have had with the harness was that I try not to use it all the time b/c people do stare and talk (thought that does not/should not matter) and so now Ali thinks she should never have to hold my hand cause that is not a big deal if she doesn't when she is wearing the harness.... so it seems like ALL THE TIME or NONE OF THE TIME is the ONLY WAY TO GO, at least with Ali.
i was thinking more of a straight up harness not an animal because he's almost 13, and as tall as me. the second link up there, the larger harness size is what he measures now, so there would be no growing room. i would most likely need an adult sized one. hmm...I have a straight up one cause when I bought them they didn't have those animal ones at target yet and to get one like that was 40$ each. I ordered them online from one step ahead. You can get them at babiesrus or maybe even target, but its so much easier for me to just buy on line. They work well, adjust to the kids size with velcro. If you really don't want to use the harness you could always attach the strap to a belt loop too. I know a girl who uses a short wrist one for her brothers when they go to walmart, they are older boys and it might be a little less noticeable. That strap on that harness is removable so I often will put them in the harness but not attach the strap until I need to. And then it could attach to anything.
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=33 3&cmSource=Search
Dear Wendy,
My son with ASD is 13. He sometimes wanders, and when he was younger, I did have him wear a harness, but at this age, I would not consider a harness until I had ruled out all other options. Is Nick able to understand instructions? Is he capable of obeying you, or is he mentally impaired? Why does he wander off – does he want to go look at something else in the store? What if you have him hold on to the cart? How about if you make a deal with him that if he is able to stay with you while you shop, you will spend 5 minutes with him in the toy/electronics (wherever he wants to go) part of the store. Also, consider how a harness will impact Nick’s social relationships if a kid at school sees him harnessed at the store (does he go to regular ed or special ed school)?
Consider carefully resorting to a physical restraint. The idea of a harness is that you will have physical control over Nick, but if he is as tall as you, I doubt that that will be effective for long. It sounds like a step backwards. If Nick is high functioning (as I thought your signature indicated), I think that there should be other ways to motivate him without resorting to a harness (as I mentioned, time in his favorite section of the store, time with Gameboy or watching TV when you get home, etc.). That said, if there is truly no other way, you need to be physically prepared to enforce any demands you make with the harness, and you may find that very challenging as he continues to grow.
SaKa,
you make some really good points. Nick is High functioning, he is in a regular school with special ed classes, he does not have friends outside of school. He wanders off because its like hide and seek for him, he likes to be found. He gets all giggly and will run if i run after him. I was thinking that a harness would not be used as a "controling" device, just as a reminder to stay where i am. If its on, he will know that he can't wander off, so he won't. Every time we go to walmart, he gets to look at the toys when we are done. I don't know if promising him tv or games would be enough to keep him from wandering at the time.
It sounds like his is capable of staying with you, he just needs to be retrained. If you think he just needs a reminder, I suggest that you find something that will trigger his memory, but that will still leave him in control. At this age, you really want to be helping him be more independent, and teaching him coping skills that he can use all his life, not training him to be more dependant on you. Maybe consider tying a piece of string to the cart and wrapping the other end around his arm (not tying him to it, just so he will feel the string moving across his skin if he walks away from the cart). Something like that. And also explain that Wal-mart is not an appropriate place for Hide-and-seek (we actually never played Hide and Seek with the kids; they were allowed to play with each other so I knew where the both were, but I did not play). You can offer a reward, and a punishment. If he stays with you, he gets to go to the toys, but if he wanders off, he doesn’t.
Also, something we do with my son is pick a meeting point when we go places, just in case we do get separated. We have him point to the direction of the meeting place several times throughout to help him know where he is all the time (he does not have a good sense of direction).