Children with disabilities have unique issues with driving. In many cases children with disabilities may have not have many of the mobility experiences of their peers without disabilities. Some children with disabilities may need to delay their driving until their adulthood because the high tech adaptive equipment they need is cost prohibitive and they may need to wait until vocational rehabilitation funding is available to them. Many children with disabilities never see the world from the front seat of an automobile.
Every parent has to make the decision of whether they feel their child is ready for driver education and it is an individual decision. Sitting at the computer I cannot make that decision for anyone, heck, after evaluating a child, I am not the best person to make the decision, I can only give advice.
Preparing Your Child with a Disability to Drive
1. Provide your child with as much mobility experience as they can handle. There are bikes with helper handles, three wheeled bikes and arm operated bikes. If your child can use one and you can afford one, get it. There is even a side by side bike that allows your child to be next to you so they get the same view as a driver.
2. If your child can be safe with a go-kart or golf car, even bumper cars, give them the opportunity.
3. If they have a power wheelchair, teach them to cross the street and develop the visual spatial skills to time when it is safe to cross to help with decision making and judgment.
4. Give them video games that allow them to develop visual scanning and searching skills.
5. When they are getting to an age when they are interested in driving, begin to have them provide you with turn by turn directions on how to get to and from familiar destinations like school, grandma’s and other places they go frequently. This will develop navigation skills and they will be familiar before they start driving.
6. Use commentary driving with them. Let them know what you are looking out for and why you are making a lane change, slowing down, or coasting, so they begin to understand that they have to interpret other drivers actions. This is very important with kids with Aspergers Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders where they may understand the rules and expect everyone to follow them.
7. Have you child use commentary driving, telling you the color of the light ahead, when it changes, add speed limit signs and warning signs as their competency improves.
8. Remember that you are their role model, drive as you would want them to drive. Model good driving behaviors
9. Think starting training earlier than later, they can have longer period of supervised driving. But again you must know your child. Prepare them for needing longer training period. They may not have met the developmental milestones at the average age, so they may not be able to drive at 16, but I guarantee that if they are a driving candidate, they will benefit from extended training.
10. Seek out a professional driver rehabilitation evaluation. Even though they cannot drive yet, the clinical assessment may provide you with strength and limitations and help you know where to focus attention as well as let you know if your child is a candidate for driving. Some things such as a strong startle reflex or poor visual acuity or peripheral vision, severe ataxia may disqualify them from driving.
