Driving and Community Mobility

What were the key takeaway points from the guest lecture today? Describe two occupational therapy interventions based on the topic. Each intervention should address a different type of client: individual (1:1), group, or population.

Key takeaways:

• Recommendations we can make as OT's without their DRST include blind-spot mirrors, an enlarged rear-view mirror attachment, and getting in and out of a vehicle
• Vehicles can be adapted in a variety of ways for a variety of diagnoses 
• An observation we can make as a family member of someone who may have driving concerns is to look at the condition of their vehicle
• Driving Rehab Specialists ride with clients who have been referred for a driving test to see if they are safe to drive a vehicle
• Most drivers are referred to a DRST for an on-road driving assessment but OT's without the certification have access to off-road assessments as  first step to measuring fitness to drive before referring to a DRST

Interventions:

Individual: in a treatment session with an individual who sustained a stroke, I would need to evaluate their cognitive skills )such as executive function, reaction time, problem-solving, memory), visual abilities (including scanning, visual acuity, tracking, depth perception, visual processing), their physical strength and ablity to control the car, get into the vehicle and look into all mirrors, sensory components (such as perception of the steering wheel), and his ability to make good judgement calls.  Through my research project in EBP III, we determined that the OT-DORA is an off-road, in-depth, effective assessment to determine fitness to drive after brain injury.  As an intervention, I think it would be both fun and multifaceted treatment to do a Wii driving game with the Wii steering wheel controller.

Group: the topic of a geriatric group could be driving and medication.  The group could include discussing medications that make us drowsy that could lead to an accident, the dangers of mixing medications and getting behind the wheel, determining when they each feel the best and how we can do their driving activities at that time of day, and things that could affect driving like wearing glasses or being aware of glares at night.