This B.C. mom asked local grocery stores to bring in special carts for son who has a disability. They did

When Chantal Martin and her family go to the grocery store, there's often a struggle to keep track of her seven-year-old son. 

Her boy, Nicholas, has Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes physical and cognitive differences. In particular, he struggles with sight. 

"He'll often walk into things that are right in front of him that you would assume he can see, but he doesn't see them," Martin said. "He's very distracted and curious and will just take off."

Nicholas has outgrown the child seat on traditional shopping carts, so he can't sit in them. The problem is, he often runs off. 

"We have gone through emergency exits and set off alarms," she said. "He has melted down in aisles ... sometimes we just head straight to the car and don't get our groceries."

Now, after advocating for local grocery stores to bring in special carts designed for people with disabilities, some shops have stepped in to help families like Martin's.

Earlier this month, Martin was the first person to take one of these special carts, called a Caroline's Cart, for a spin around the local Real Canadian Superstore. She's also used one at the local Walmart. In an email to CBC News in November, one of the Save-On-Foods locations confirmed it had ordered one cart. 

The Caroline's Cart was developed by Drew Ann Long in Alabaster —  a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.

Her daughter Caroline was born with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects brain development. She can't walk — and as she got older, she couldn't fit in carts, making trips to the grocery store difficult for Long. Finding no shopping cart alternatives through her research, she developed a concept for a special cart herself. 

The idea went from a drawing on a napkin in about 2009, Long said, to being available in stores within about four years. 

The cart is like a traditional cart but removes where small children often sit and replaces it with a larger seat that accommodates up to 250 pounds and has a five-point safety harness.

Now, Long says she's sold thousands of the carts; they're in every Walmart in the United States. 

Long said the carts meant her family had the freedom to go shopping on a whim without having to secure a babysitter in advance. 

"It allows families and children that did not have the ability before to be out in the community," she said. "It makes shopping possible for families like mine."