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Driving Assessment Program

Driving is a necessary daily activity for many, so when a medical condition or the aging process compromises your ability to operate a vehicle safely, it can result not only in a loss of independence but isolate you from your community.

Through our Driving Assessment and Rehabilitation Program, licensed occupational therapists design a plan to help you maintain your independence and keep you connected to the community.  We will evaluate your vision, spatial awareness, and physical and mental reaction time to determine your potential to drive and whether adaptive equipment could make driving safer and easier for you.  Our goal is to work with you to identify the best options for safe community mobility.

Spaulding Outpatient Center offers a Level 3 Driver Rehabilitation Program. Licensed occupational therapists design a plan to help you maintain your independence and keep you connected to the community. We will evaluate your vision, spatial awareness, and physical and mental reaction time to determine your potential to drive and whether adaptive equipment could make driving safer and easier for you. Our goal is to work with you to identify the best options for safe community mobility.

Levels Of Care

  • Outpatient

Spaulding’s Approach To Driving Assessment and Rehabilitation

We start with a clinical assessment that takes one to two hours. Following this, a person may be recommended for an in vehicle assessment coordinated between the patient, their family/support, the occupational therapist, and the partnered driving school or certified driving rehabilitation specialist.

Following both assessments, recommendations are made and range from resuming driving with recommendations or requirements, pursuing driving rehabilitation, pursuing adaptive equipment training or vehicle modifications, pursuing continued therapy, or refraining from driving. In cases where driving is not recommended, alternative transportation options will be discussed to ensure continued community mobility. Final recommendations are forwarded to the referring physician and in some cases the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Spaulding sites offer different levels of Driving Assessment and Rehabilitation services:

Occupational Therapist

Completes a Clinical Driving Evaluation and when appropriate will refer for an in vehicle driving evaluation to a partnered local driving school.

Occupational Therapist/Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist

Completes a Clinical Driving Evaluation and when appropriate will refer for an in vehicle driving evaluation, evaluate driving along with the partnered local driving school, and make driving and/or adaptive equipment recommendations.

Occupational Therapist/Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist/Professional Driving Instructor

Completes a Clinical Driving Evaluation and when appropriate will perform an in vehicle driving evaluation and driving rehabilitation using an on-site Spaulding driving instruction vehicle. This level also makes driving and/or adaptive equipment recommendations and provides driving training with adaptive equipment (hand controls, left foot accelerator, steering knob, etc).