Driving is a critical part of everyday life — enabling you to carry out daily tasks, keep an active social life and have control over how you get where you need to go. Even more, driving is a source of freedom, independence, and self-worth. Over the years, many have shared feelings of frustration, despair, and sadness about the difficult adjustment that follows giving up driving.
There is hope. Driving evaluations and simulators have been offered for several years. There is now a new development in this type of program, an adaptive driving school component, which can take an existing program to a whole new level. An adaptive program promotes self-reliance through medically-based driver evaluation and behind the wheel training to qualified patients and participants.
An adaptive driving school program consists of individual evaluations and training by a certified driving instructor who is also a registered occupational therapist. The service is an extension of the rehabilitation process geared toward enhancing an individual’s functional independence. Participants of the program will receive an evaluation, behind-the-wheel driver education, and be prescribed adaptive equipment for vehicle modifications, if necessary. The program can be used as a resource for education and information to persons with disabilities, rehabilitation, and/or driver education professionals, vehicle modifiers, and the general community.
Who can benefit from an adaptive driving school program?
- New drivers working toward a road test
- Licensed drivers, who need training with adaptive equipment
- Individuals with a wide range of health conditions including but not limited to:
∙ Stroke
∙ Brain injury
∙ Spinal cord injury
∙ Amputation
∙ Cognitive impairment
∙ Congenital abnormality
∙ Orthopedic or neurological impairments
∙ Age-related changes, including visual and cognitive challenges
∙ Someone with a recent injury which has limited their mobility
The program evaluation determines the individual’s ability to drive. The evaluation process consists of clinical assessments of driving skills that include:
- Vision
- Strength
- Balance
- Cognition
- Decision-making
- Reaction time
A behind-the-wheel assessment using an adaptive driving school vehicle evaluates:
- Vehicle operation
- Decision-making
- Scanning
- Safety with transfers
- Proficiency with adaptive equipment
Driver training may be recommended to improve driving skills, train for use of adaptive equipment, address overall safety in a variety of traffic situations, or to determine safety with a restricted driving status.
A physician’s referral and a valid driver’s license or permit are required.
IPMR has offered Driving Evaluations and Driving Simulator Training for 22 years. IPMR has expanded its Driving Rehabilitation Program to include an Adaptive Driving School, available in central Illinois. For more information on IPMR’s Driver Evaluation and Training program, which is available only at the Sheridan Road IPMR location (6501 N. Sheridan Rd. Peoria), call 309-692-8670.