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Driver rehabilitation is a specialized area of occupational therapy that helps someone regain independence in the area of driving after experiencing an acute or traumatic injury, illness, or disability.

People who benefit from driver rehab may have impairments in the strength or motion of their legs and/or arms. They may also have some minor cognitive issues or vision concerns that impact their driving capabilities. 

Individuals who are often candidates for driver rehab may have diagnoses such as stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, lower extremity amputations,  Anxiety, Sensory or Perceptual Challenges or any other conditions that may impact driving.

 Driving a car safely and with competence is a complex skill that requires time to learn and master. It not only requires the driver to operate the controls within the vehicle but also challenges our skills in vision and visual perception, looking and thinking ahead,  decision making, remaining calm under pressure, remembering road rules and signs and signals,  blocking out unnecessary distractions, managing fatigue and anxiety and multi tasking to name a few.  Some learner drivers need extra time to acquire and become confident in deploying these skills when faced with the exciting prospect of being on the road.

Driving is a skill many people take for granted, since it often becomes second nature after years of doing it multiple times a day. For this reason, driver rehab is a very impactful practice area of occupational therapy that can help many people gain and/or maintain their independence in a very personal way.

 Rehabilitation driving instructors have completed specialist training to instruct and teach drivers with extra needs.