Obtaining a Drivers License is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking milestones, for parents and young adults alike. One of the most important questions that parents and caregivers must carefully consider is: is my child ready to drive? It is no secret that driving is a privilege that carries with it both high risk and high reward.
If you are feeling unsure whether your teenager or young adult is ready to begin the process of learning to drive, consider assessing their readiness by asking yourself the following questions:
- Do you trust your teen/young adult to be alone for several hours at a time? A high level of safety awareness is required to be an independent driver. Prior to becoming a driver, an individual should be able to be left at home for several hours independently without worries about their safety.
- Can your teen/young adult plan and prepare a meal using a heat source? Multi-step meal preparation is a great measure of executive functioning (a term encompassing several higher-level cognitive skills which are an essential part of driver readiness). If your child is unable to plan and prepare multi-step meals, consider focusing on increasing their independence in the kitchen prior to handing them a set of keys!
- Can your teen/young adult complete their laundry independently? Realistically, most teens and young adults need small reminders to stay on top of their chore list. When push comes to shove, does your potential-driver initiate, sequence, and follow through with all of the steps involved in doing their own laundry? If not, consider developing independence with these types of daily activities prior to introducing driving to the equation.
- Does your teen/young adult manage their money with an age-appropriate level of independence? A great measure of maturity is the ability to manage personal financial decisions. Does your teen or young adult have a bank account, and can they be trusted to make small personal purchases without supervision? If your potential driver doesn’t earn a paycheck, consider setting up an allowance that allows them to develop financial management skills prior to turning them loose on the road.
- Does your teen/young adult demonstrate respect for rules and boundaries at home, at school and in the community? If you are regularly having difficult conversations with your soon-to-be-driver about the importance of following rules and respecting boundaries, they may lack the emotional maturity to adhere to rules that are designed to keep them safe behind the wheel. Consider requiring a proven track record of “acceptable” behavior prior to agreeing to exploring Drivers Training.
- Does your teen/young adult demonstrate the ability to multi-task familiar activities successfully? Divided attention, the ability to alternate one’s attention between multiple variables successfully, is a foundational requirement for safe driving. This skill can be improved over time and is often one of the primary barriers to safe driving for teenagers and young adults with learning challenges. Does your potential driver have difficulties with multi-tasking? Do they begin one task and move on to another before the first task is completed? Do they get distracted from the task at hand by background noise or conversation? These are all signs that divided attention may be impaired. To functionally assess divided attention, ask your teen/young adult to prepare a multi-step meal, while you ask them questions and engage them in conversation. Observe if their performance changes, or if they have difficulty continuing what they are doing with the added distraction. If this is difficult for them, consider consulting with an Occupational Therapist or Speech Therapist to learn ways to help develop divided attention.
- Does your teen/young adult demonstrate basic awareness of the driving environment as a passenger? It is not uncommon for teenagers to bury their faces in their cellphones during their daily commutes. Instead of scrolling on social media, challenge your soon-to-be-driver to look ahead and answer questions about what they are seeing. Becoming an “active passenger” is one of the most effective ways to prepare for being in the driver’s seat. As a passenger, does your teen/young adult notice important things like traffic lights, pedestrians, and construction signs? If not, consider spending some time engaging in “commentary driving”- by narrating your own driving aloud to them.
If you have determined that your teen/young adult demonstrates basic driver readiness skills, the next step is to consider a formal evaluation. Driving to Independence provides comprehensive Potential to Drive evaluations to individuals who do not yet have their Instruction Permit. The purpose of the Potential to Drive (PTD) evaluation is to help parents and caregivers know if their teen/young adult is ready to pursue formal drivers training. At the conclusion of the PTD evaluation families are provided information about their potential driver’s processing skills, cognition, attention, motor skills, visual perception and present level of knowledge about rules of the road- along with a formal recommendation from an Occupational Therapist and/or Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist regarding their level of readiness. The providers at Driving to Independence have specialized training and extensive experience working with diverse populations and teaching the complex task of driving to teens and young adults with a variety of learning differences including but not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, ODD, Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, Anxiety, OCD, and visual impairments. Contact Driving to Independence to inquire about our Potential to Drive Evaluation if you would like a professional opinion based upon objective data regarding your teen/young adult’s driving readiness.