Evaluating and Retraining Driving Performance in Clients with Disabilities

This critical review article summarizes the literature regarding the evaluation and retraining of driving skills in clients with a range of physical, perceptual, and cognitive disabilities. The impact of aging, as well as different disabling conditions, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and dementia, on the ability to drive safely, is discussed. The article first provides the conceptual framework for the psycho-motor, sensory/perceptual, and cognitive skills required for the driving task, as well as different driving models presented in the literature. Information regarding screening of fundamental driving skills, evaluating driving performance, and methods of retraining driving ability is then provided. Finally, this article examines current knowledge about the provision of adaptive equipment and managing driving cessation. The information reviewed in this article provides health care providers and researchers with the evidence available to-date in the field of driving for clients with disabilities.