Image: Jenny OT driver assessor working with Jacob using the Drive Focus app on his ipad.
Have you watched “Young Sheldon”? Prequel of “The Big Bang Theory”, 9 year old Sheldon is gifted and demonstrates traits of autism (although it is never formally mentioned); Sheldon’s mentor and physics professor Dr John Sturgis (also gifted and demonstrating traits of autism) doesn’t drive. He attempts a driving lesson with Connie (Sheldon’s beloved grandma):
John approaches an intersection with a yellow traffic light… it goes something like this:
John: (panicking) Yellow light! Yellow light!
Connie: it was just a yellow light!
John is upset and pulls over.
John: It’s too much information, I can’t process it.
Connie: it was just a yellow light!
John: It was not just the light… there were other cars, pedestrians, there was a guy on a bicycle… it’s just too many random elements.. the stimuli are overwhelming..
Dr Sturgis demonstrates the challenges often experienced and found in the research in drivers and learner drivers with autism. Dr Sturgis doesn’t know what to prioritise and may not know exactly what he needs to look for, and may take more time to process this information… not to mention extreme anxiety in the situation.
Parents of young adults with autism (and other conditions including ADHD) are usually concerned about their teen’s ability and safety in being able to drive and being on the road, but they also want their teen to have the normality of learning to drive like other kids.
Driving Well Occupational Therapy has been leading change in this space across Australia, with the roll-out of the “potential to drive” approach and resources including the Drive Focus app from the Driver Rehab Institute in the USA and development of the Get Driving online therapy toolkit.
Here are our tips that parents need to know:
1. Autism may require medical clearance for driving from your doctor
Autism now appears on the AustRoads Assessing Fitness to Drive guidelines as a medical condition / disability under “Neurological conditions” (these changes were published in June 2022) https://austroads.com.au/publications/assessing-fitness-to-drive/ap-g56/neurological-conditions/other-neurological-and-neurodevelopmental-conditions#other-neurological-conditions-table
So what?
Autism and other conditions can impact a person’s motor coordination, visual search and processing skills, and may impact safe driving performance. Like any person with a medical condition, they must have clearance from their doctor. The doctor may decide they need an OT driving assessment, and may decide:
- No medical certificate / condition is needed; or
- A medical certificate with a medical condition endorsement but no restriction; or
- A restricted medical certificate – driving with a driving instructor only / dual control car” may be required to maintain the young adult’s (and everyone elses) safety… we just don’t know if they are going to be able to respond to a hazardous situation under pressure.
2. Common challenges of autism on driving
Research has been completed showing autism characteristics that may impact driving include:
- reduced coordination of limbs for physical control, and visual motor integration – seeing a bend and steering around it
- tricky with interpreting non-verbal cues eg brake and indicator lights, tailgaters
- understanding traffic flow
- trouble with problem solving; planning ahead; mental flexibility; divided attention
- “look but do not see”
- take longer to find “critical” information
- experience cognitive overload and anxiety
Your teen may have difficulty with some or all of these, and if these are not addressed, they may not be successful with learning to drive or be dangerous on the road.
It is also important to remember that not everyone with autism will show potential to drive now, or will be successful with obtaining their driver’s licence.
3. Steps to use NDIS funding for driving lessons
Funding for specialised driving lessons through the NDIS is a “stated item” – this means that it cannot be utilised until an OT driving assessment is completed and a report and quote for lessons is submitted to the NDIA for consideration. The recommendations and quote need to be approved and added to the NDIS plan, under CB: improved daily living.
You and your teen will need some resolve.. this can be a lengthy process… but we are lucky to have access to this funding support.
4. Parent input is crucial!
Sorry parents, learning to drive cannot be handballed over to the driving instructor. Research shows that it may take up to 3 times longer for these young people to be successful in learning to drive, and they will still need to work up minimum supervised driving hours (as per your state licencing authority) to attempt a Provisional licence test. NDIS will not fund endless hours for learning to drive.
Parents are busy and overloaded – you need to work out if the timing for working on learning to drive is right for your teen and for you. Teen also needs to “drive” this learning to drive – they need to be motivated to do the lessons and the homework!
5. You can do so much whilst you wait!
Your teen may be restricted to driving with a driving instructor only initially… the good news is that they can practice all the subskills needed for driving:
- Work on community mobility: pedestrian, passenger, ride share, public transport… then tackle driving
- Work on independence with general lifeskills
- The award winning Drive Focus app is designed to develop visual search and speed of processing (reaction) skills. Watch a 1 minute video below (it’s an American app but has drives in Brisbane and Melbourne). Get it on your tablet device (ipad or android) or on Windows 11. www.drivefocus.com
- The Get Driving online therapy toolkit includes activity sheets and video examples of graded home and front passenger activities.
Get the Toolkit here: https://drivingwell.thinkific.com/courses/getdriving
Find out if your teen is ready to learn to drive!
There is so much more to share… Jenny has developed a 1.5 hour pre-recorded webinar to guide you through the research in more detail, use a lifeskills review and walk you through what is involved in an OT “potential to drive” assessment.
Get the webinar here: https://drivingwell.thinkific.com/courses/is-my-young-adult-ready-for-driving
Use your NDIS funding
To purchase the webinar and toolkit through your young persons’ NDIS plan, send an email to admin@drivingwell.com.au, with your request, NDIS participant number and plan manager details.
Driving Well Occupational Therapy provides OT potential to drive assessment and driving therapy for learners and pre-learners in the Brisbane area and we love working with this group of young Australians on working toward their goal of becoming a driver.
Jenny Gribbin, Director / OT Driver Assessor, Driving Well Occupational Therapy
Learning to drive is an exciting rite of passage for young people. It can be the beginning of their life as a young adult, independence, trips with their friends – no more pick up and drops off for parents!
As exciting as it may be for the young person, it’s often a daunting prospect for parents.
- Are they ready?
- Will they be safe?
- How will I survive giving them lessons?
- What if they don’t pass?
Learning to drive requires a massive energy, time and monetary commitment. It takes time and practice to learn road law theory, courage to sit the exam (once or twice!) and even more courage to sit in the passenger seat as your child takes the wheel. Add to the mix, a learning disability, autism, ADHD, anxiety or physical impairment and it can seem an unclimbable mountain.
At Driving Well, we’re here to help you through this process.
Our Potential to Drive Program provides a starting point for learner drivers with additional needs who may be thinking of getting their learner’s permit or starting driving lessons. We provide comprehensive assessment to uncover the learner’s/your child’s learning needs based on their disability and work closely with specialised driving instructors to put together a learning package just for them.
We can also provide you with advice on what you can do in day-to-day life to build the skills they need to be a successful driver and support linking with formal therapies that may help. We also offer support for parents and caregivers to learn how to practice skills on-road skills with the individual and to learn the techniques used by their driving instructors to minimise lesson stress!
We can support you through the process of seeing if learning to drive can be supported by your NDIS Plan and walk you through the process form start to finish.
This is a huge undertaking and not a simple process. It is really important that we have a partnership between Driving Well OT and the client and their family.
Read more about the OT “potential to drive” process here.
Approval for driving training program
When a driving program (lessons) are recommended, the OT driver assessor will submit the OT driving assessment report and quote for the number of recommended lessons from the driving instructor provider, to the NDIA
“specialised driving training” is a quote required item, which needs to be approved by NDIA and added as a line item to your NDIA plan under Capacity Building: improved daily living (Specialised driver training 15_046_0129_1_3) this applies even if you have a goal regarding driving / community access, and even if you have sufficient budget in improved daily living.
Once you have written approval from the NDIA (and the line item is added to your NDIS plan), you are able to book your lessons directly with the driving instructor. (Note – as at February 2022, this is taking months to gain approval).
If you are with another insurer, a quote and report is provided, and the insurer must approve the quote to commence lessons.
Drive Focus App
Drive Focus is a tablet based app (ipad/android tablet) designed to develop visual search, reaction time/processing/decision and motor execution skills (the information processing model) required for driving.
- It has interactive video taken from the driver’s perspective, which is coded with tap-able “hotspots” of the critical items: brake lights, stop signs, traffic lights, speed signs, pedestrians, cars entering from left/right, objects on the road). The user must tap on the critical items as quickly as possible in the correct order.
- The app has Australian “tours” of Brisbane and Melbourne available and costs approximately $20AUD; there are seven drives within each tour, each of increasing difficulty.
- Visual cues for critical items can be turned on and off, and the videos can be slowed down to allow more processing time.
- The user’s score is presented at the end of each practice, and android users can email their results to their OT.
- A university study identified that six one-hour sessions of Drive Focus significantly reduce driving errors among already licenced drivers. The subjects also rated Drive Focus as valuable for improving their driving skills.
- There are other studies taking place in the USA and Canada presently to examine the efficacy of Drive Focus with populations including older adults post stroke, traumatic brain injury, and combat veterans with post-traumatic stress.
Our learner drivers are recommended to practice the app three to four times per week for about 15 minutes each session; they can level up through the drives, and review their score and re-attempt to improve their score (number of critical items and average response time).
The app is a Finalist for Best Assistive Technology product at the upcoming Australian Disability Service Awards, and winner of the Technology Award for Australian Road Safety Foundation 2021!
Why should I purchase the Get Driving toolkit?
Driving lessons are full-on – there is a lot to take in, especially in the early phases.
We know for conditions including ASD and ADHD that focusing on one task at a time and building this up (eg developing visual searching skills when outside of the car or when in the front passenger seat) will then make it easier to integrate skills when behind-the-wheel on driving lessons.
Driving Well has developed a therapy program (face to face clinic and passenger activities) and this online therapy toolkit for clients to purchase access at home with their parents / support workers, to work on fundamental skills needed for driving – and build these up so they will get more out of their driving lessons with the driving instructor.
Therapy program sessions at our new clinic space!
We are renting a clinic space at Takes Care Specialist Centre, 11 Cleveland St, Stones Corner on Wednesdays, commencing 16th November. We are so excited to be able to provide “Get Driving” therapy programs to our learner driver clients at this beautiful and accessible clinic space. This will reduce costs to our clients, and allow us to be so much more efficient in providing services.
Need support with driving and vehicle modifications assessments? Email admin@drivingwell.com.au to see if we can help you.
Article by Lauren Jackson OT Driver Assessor and Jenny Gribbin OT Driver Assessor
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Driving Well Occupational Therapy is a busy practice that provides OT driving assessment and vehicle modification services for people with medical conditions and injuries in Brisbane, Ipswich and northern Gold Coast. We service clients who are self-funding, NDIS and other compensable (WorkCover, NIISQ, TAC, iCare).
On behalf of the team at Driving Well Occupational Therapy and in the spirit of reconciliation, I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Turrbul and Yuggera country, where our team live and serve the majority of our clients, as well as to all Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to the land, sea and community. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people today.
On behalf of the team at Driving Well Occupational Therapy and in the spirit of reconciliation, I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Turrbul and Yuggera country, where our team live and serve the majority of our clients, as well as to all Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to the land, sea and community. I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people today.
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