I am so grateful I have the pleasure of working with so many wonderful young people who are so motivated to learn to drive, excited about driving, and engaged in our “Get Driving” therapy sessions.
Every Wednesday at the moment I run clinic-based therapy sessions working with young people who are on the path of learning to drive. The “Get Driving” therapy sessions generally are designed to support learner drivers and returning drivers with developing underlying motor, visual and processing skills necessary for driving. Often we work through these sessions to develop skills, to prepare someone for specialised driving lessons with a driving instructor.
The sessions are one-on-one sessions that go for an hour and half, with a combination of activities that are completed in the clinic and out on the road with the client as a passenger in the car.
A session will typically look like this:
- Motor coordination activity e.g. catch and throw, to get the brain fired up and coordinate eye and body movements
- Speed of processing and visual search activity e.g. road sign flash cards, to work on reaction times, visual scanning and processing
- Driving task e.g. identifying the meaning of road signs
- Drive Focus practice
- Then we get in the car, and level up passenger activities – each part of the driving task is broken down where we build these skills individually and then integrate them. We love getting to hazard management and problem solving – and navigating to places like McDonalds.
Please see this link here to get a handout which explains a bit more about what the Get Driving sessions involve.
This week was such a great reminder to me how privileged I am to be a part of this learning to drive process with young people. Each young person who walked into the clinic came in with a smile on their face, excited to tell me about the work they’d been doing at home to practice and develop their readiness for driving skills. They were all eager to engage in the session, actively asking questions and reflecting on their learnings. I’ve seen such growth in these young people, and it’s so exciting to me to be actively seeing and being a part of this journey with them.
Clients who do well with this program are:
- Committed, motivated, and practice at home
- Come to sessions prepared and try really hard
- Work together with the OT and are appreciative of all the support and advice
Just last month I heard back from a client who had previously gone through this “Get Driving” support program with me, and then specialised driving lessons, and has now successfully gained her provisional license. Go Tara! What an achievement! We are so proud of you and wish you all the best with your driving career. Please drive safely and remember everything you’ve learned through this program!
If you would like more information about the potential to drive assessment approach, Get Driving supports or other services we provide you can check out our website!
