Date Presented 03/22/24
Driving, as a complex instrumental activity of daily livng, uses integrated skills from all performance skills and client factors. As a gap in service, protocols for training novice drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the DriveSafety Simulator is described along with results from a pretest-posttest.
Primary Author and Speaker: Alexandra Woolverton
Additional Authors and Speakers: Kaitlin Warren
Contributing Authors: Anne E. Dickerson
PURPOSE: Driving & community mobility (D&CM) is an important IADL needed to participate in necessary or desired occupations. As a complex IADL, it requires integration of cognition, motor & sensory abilities. Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have behaviors that may be barriers to their independent community mobility and thus, social participation. In fact, 1 in 3 teens with ASD obtain a license compared to 83% of neurotypical teens. Not surprising, with limited resources for improving D&CM and teens/young adults often age out of services. There are no specific protocols established for this population to address the performance skills needed for D&CM, although it is very clear that there are identified deficits that put them at risk. The research question is whether a developed protocol on a driving simulator improves driving skills & abilities of novice drivers with ASD.
DESIGN: Pre-Post Test using convenience sample of teens with ASD over 3 years.
METHOD: Participants completed a standardized drive on a STISIM simulator prior to and after training on a DriveSafety simulator. The two evaluations were separated by 3 weeks. Training on the simulator was daily for 5 days, at an individualized pace following protocols. The Performance Analysis of Driving Ability (P-Drive)was used to score performance and done by trained raters.
RESULTS: Paired t tests, preliminary data (2 years) show significant difference between the overall score of the P-Drive (t= 4.7), p=.017 as well as three of four categories (maneuvers, p=.035; orients, p=.018; regulations, p=.002).
CONCLUSION: Using P-Drive, novice autistic drivers showed significant change after the implementation of protocols to improve driving knowledge/skills/abilities.
IMPACT: This study supports the distinct value of OT both scientifically with results that support improvement in occupation, but also to society. Persons with ASD can contribute significantly to society if they have a method of CM.
References
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Kersten, M., Coxon, K., Lee, H., & Wilson, N. J. (2020b). Independent Community Mobility and Driving Experiences of Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A Scoping Review. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(5), 7405205140–p7405205117. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.040311
Vindin, P., Wilson, N. J., Lee, H., & Cordier, R. (2021). The Experience of Learning to Drive for People With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 36(4), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/10883576211023312
Patomella, A. H., & Bundy, A. (2015). P-Drive: Implementing an Assessment of On-Road Driving in Clinical Settings and Investigating Its Internal and Predictive Validity. Am J Occup Ther, 69(4), 6904290010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2015.015131
