Driving with Autism

Autism commonly becomes evident in early childhood and probably will be chronic in nature. The disorder consists of developmental deficiencies that can range from inhibiting behaviors to having high anxiety.   Any level of  HFASD may increase the risk of unsafe driving.. These risks stem from levels of anxiety, poor problem solving skills, prioritizing and planning.   Visual skill training is vital since many HFASD treat all information on the road equally.  

If you or someone you know has HFASD here are the warning signs that may interfere with safe driving:

• Has high anxiety
• Is a perfectionist and hates making mistakes
• Difficulty with interpreting traffic environments / does not anticipate dangerous situations
• Impaired eye/ hand/foot coordination
• Slow to respond / information processing
• Difficulty with prioritizing
• Poor planning skills
• Difficulty with non-verbal cues

Our system:

to evaluate if someone with HFASD can drive our system consists of a three parts

1. Clinical assessment with a focus on:
   • Visual Perception
   • Divided attention
   • Reaction Time 
2. Critical Information Identification program
   • Both care giver and student must take together
3. Behind-The-Wheel assessment

To find out more about our comprehensive assessment and determine you or your son or daughters ability to drive call us at. 440-449-3300.