Washington University Occupational Therapy offers Comprehensive Driving Evaluations for persons who are recovering or have been impacted by a medical condition and want to know if they are safe to drive.
The driving evaluation program is coordinated by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist Peggy P. Barco, Associate Professor who specializes in research related to older adult driving and cognition for over 20 years. We have a team of professionals to assist you in scheduling and answering your specific questions. Our goal is to help all people drive as long as they are safely able to. At this time, we specialize in adults and older adults with varied medical conditions.
All driving evaluations require a physician referral. These evaluations are very comprehensive and take around 3 hours to complete.
Many people ask, what happens during a driving evaluation?
- During a driving evaluation, an occupational therapist will meet with patients (and a significant other) to get to know their specific concerns and questions.
- The therapist will then screen for vision, motor, sensory, and cognitive skills which are specifically relevant to driving.
- An occupational therapy driving rehabilitation specialist will then take the individual out for a drive (in a vehicle equipped with a passenger-side brake) on a route arranged in complexity according to what type of driving is desired in the future.
- Individualized recommendations for driving are usually provided the same day – upon completion of the evaluation process.
- The referring physician will review and finalize approval of the recommendations once they receive the report.
For questions or to make a referral please call, 314-286-1640 and we will be more than happy to assist you!
Physicians: Please email us directly at OTClinical@wustl.edu and we will email you our EPIC 3-step short guide to put in referrals or visit our Driving program webpage to learn more.
Thank you for considering our services, we look forward to working with you!