SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 7:33 am
Yeah, with adjustable being the key word. 
No, I don't believe we have. 
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 8:30 am
harnesses are a common-ish component on custom powerchairs...
they are almost NEVER found on users who are able to hold themselves up, do not require advanced positioning, can tolerate sitting up on their own, dont require something nice and tight on their chest. i meet all 4 criteria. i cant hold myself up, i require advanced positioning, and i cant tolerate sitting up on my own, need something nice and tight on my chest (hint the 4th criteria is a joke)
They are NEVER found on people who are in it just because of age and can still walk a little bit...
They are found frequently on cerebral palsy and certain degenerative diseases (like mine!)
harnesses are among the easy to obtain powerchair upgrades.. they are also among the the strapple family, a family of strap based components that can be made as tight as the user likes. in my case, very tight.
chest strapples come in usually two materials, again neoprene and leather.
neoprene chest strapple!! ! specifically my strapple... mind you in this picture the left side adjustment is messed up...
leather chest strapple
strapples come in many shapes and sizes as you can obviously see from the pics above.
there are two types, male and female harnesses.
female harness
male harness
female or male harness is not a cut and dried thing, some males wind up getting a female harness and some females need a male harness, it all depends on what kind of support the user needs, but stereotypically males get male harnesses and females USUALLY get female harnesses. however if a female has really bad inability to hold herself up she may be prescribed a male harness for the increased support a male harness can provide. and if a male does not need much support at all but more needs something there just in case he may be prescribed a female harness.
it is also noticed that some people who have harnesses tend to prefer an extremely tight fit, like me and my friend chris like our harnesses on very tight. harness makers do not know what the tightness will be nor do the powerchair dealers as they only adjust it to your size and then say, you find out how tight you want it. hence most harness makers make them to withstand tension of extreme numbers that no one could produce by even tightening it with a winch. It is also noted that in a car crash a person restrained in their powerchair by a correct harness is much more likely to come out with no injuries than someone with standard seat belts. this is due to how harnesses distribute weight across the body. i believe auto makers should use powerchair harnesses in cars like they do on airplane pilots...
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
Last edited by Strapples on 23 Apr 2008, 9:00 am, edited 2 times in total.
SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 8:37 am
Hmm...good point on the seabelt/harness thing. Maybe if harnesses/straps were more widely used more lives would be saved in car accidents.
And maybe we would be more comfortable while driving a car too. 
(I hate seatbelts, I feel suffocated by them, even though they're not tight.)
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 8:39 am
And maybe we would be more comfortable while driving a car too.
(I hate seatbelts, I feel suffocated by them, even though they're not tight.)
the best thing about being in a powerchair is you dont use the cars seatbelt... your seatbelt and harness are always on... i just drive into the van hit the lockdown switch and voila... im ready to go... after i pull my harness even tighter if my muscles let me ahhaha.
i absolutely hate seatbelts with a passion, that material they use sucks!! !!
the only thing is if you had a neoprene strapple in your car, would you fall asleep at the wheel from how comfortable it is... to make the situation worse, what if we had head straps too... and leg straps
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 8:43 am
LOL yeah - if you had head straps and leg straps you would definitely crash the car while driving. And yes, come to think of it, maybe seatbelts are meant to be uncomfortable.
(I hate how they always climb towards the neck, and would gladly exchange them for straps, even if that means not exaggerating on the tightness so that it isn't too comfortable.
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 8:50 am
And yes, come to think of it, maybe seatbelts are meant to be uncomfortable. (I hate how they always climb towards the neck, and would gladly exchange them for straps, even if that means not exaggerating on the tightness so that it isn't too comfortable.
imagine this... head and leg straps and a chest harness in your car... you would fall asleep i know it!! !
i think they make them out of that scratchy nylon webbing to be uncomfortable on purpose, i think the same goes for pilot harnesses on an airplane
if they cant use leather or neoprene strapples then at least use a pilot strapple in the cars...
and theoretically yes you could use a neoprene or leather strapple in your car as long as you dont exaggerate the tightness too much, because if i have my harness on tight expect me to become quite relaxed and spacey... if i close the laptop and everything while im in my powerchair and hit the tilt switch
^^ is the position i fall asleep in, as long as i have no laptop in my lap and nothing going on needing attention from me...
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
23 Apr 2008, 8:53 am
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 8:57 am
about headrests, if i had to choose one, give me a 5, the 2qcr and put in head array package and make it adaptable to car driving controls, reason i feel this would be better, coordination, being a head array makes you look in the direction you want to turn in, hnece less accidents and less fear of loss of control, using wheel and pedals and with coordination, sounds like breeding grounds for disaster, sides, i seem to drive better in video games. my dad has attempted to take me to drive on side streets nearby, i tend to go to middle of road and oriantation within vehicle with oriantation of vehicle on street i just dont thikn i could stay in my own lane.
i have always had dreams of harnesses in cars hahaha...
about the head array controlled cars, i would love to see this happen, this would give me the ability to drive since my coordination in my hands is not very good. but when i get my 2QCR + head array package i could just plug into the car and drive! that would be soooo cool!! ! back when i could plaay videogames i was only good for totalling cars and driving like a maniac... like in grand theft auto san andreas i would drive in two lanes on my side of the road at least, sometimes id drive in the middle, other times on the freakin sidewalk... still totalled a car every 5 minutes...
automakers if you are reading this... use strapples and head arrays!! !
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
23 Apr 2008, 9:03 am
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 9:05 am
about headrests, if i had to choose one, give me a 5, the 2qcr and put in head array package and make it adaptable to car driving controls, reason i feel this would be better, coordination, being a head array makes you look in the direction you want to turn in, hnece less accidents and less fear of loss of control, using wheel and pedals and with coordination, sounds like breeding grounds for disaster, sides, i seem to drive better in video games. my dad has attempted to take me to drive on side streets nearby, i tend to go to middle of road and oriantation within vehicle with oriantation of vehicle on street i just dont thikn i could stay in my own lane.
i have always had dreams of harnesses in cars hahaha...
about the head array controlled cars, i would love to see this happen, this would give me the ability to drive since my coordination in my hands is not very good. but when i get my 2QCR + head array package i could just plug into the car and drive! that would be soooo cool!! ! back when i could plaay videogames i was only good for totalling cars and driving like a maniac... like in grand theft auto san andreas i would drive in two lanes on my side of the road at least, sometimes id drive in the middle, other times on the freakin sidewalk... still totalled a car every 5 minutes...
automakers if you are reading this... use strapples and head arrays!! !
anothe thing too, start nodding off at the wheel, your car stops when your head falls foward, since with a head array to power the vehicle you have to hold your head against headrest. i guess that would be good, you could identify the differance between a sleeper and a drunk, since they would not really be able to control their car they would think again before thinking of driving, and not drive at all when drunk or sleepy, being head array use makes you have to pay attention to were your going.
GM, FORD, DODGE: possible??? head arrays as safer alternative to wheel and pedals??? less injuries to sternum(chest bone in center) from impact with steering wheel or to head from hitting steering wheel or windsheild because occupant would be held in by harness.
while your at it... lets start modeling cars off of TDX-SP powerchairs... center wheel drive cars!! ! hows about that!! !
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
23 Apr 2008, 9:10 am
SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 9:19 am
Strapples
Supporting Member
Joined: 30 Nov 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 17,861
Location: Chicago Area IL (FAR FROM AUTISM SPEAKS)
23 Apr 2008, 9:21 am
now... who wants to talk about spinal seating systems!
_________________
check out my website at {redacted by admin - domain taken over and points to a porn site}
When in doubt, ask an autistic. Chances are, they're obsessed with what you need to know.
Autism Speaks will NEVER speak for me
CLASSIC AUTISM
SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 9:22 am
Having chronic bad back posture myself...I'm curious... 
23 Apr 2008, 9:24 am
SilverProteus
Veteran
Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,915
Location: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
23 Apr 2008, 9:26 am
maybe even ENCOURAGE kids to buckle up (and even adults)
And what about backseat seatbelt, hey? No comment.
