Outcomes from a Driving and Community Mobility Intervention Designed for Novice Drivers with Autism from the Perspective of the Participants and Their Parents.
Anne E Dickerson, Lynne Murphy, Mary McIntyre
PMID 39425846WHAT IT FOUND
Participants and parents reported better perceived driving and community mobility knowledge and skills after an occupational therapy bootcamp, but perceived executive-function changes were mostly absent and parents rated their child's driving anxiety as higher afterward.
Key findings
01For many knowledge and driving-ability items, participants and parents reported more positive ratings after the bootcamp than before it.
02Participants reported significantly lower anxiety about becoming a driver and significant improvements in several driving barriers.
03Most executive-function ratings did not change significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The outcomes are perceptions on questionnaires, not measured driving performance. There was no comparison group, so changes cannot be attributed to the bootcamp alone. The bootcamp combined knowledge activities, driving simulators, visual scanning boards, stationary vehicle orientation, law enforcement visits, role-playing, and community bus practice, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Most participants did not have a driver's permit, and only three had a license, so there was no actual on-road driving experience. Only about 36% of parents had the opportunity to observe actual changes because their child had a permit. Most executive-function ratings did not change significantly, so the study does not show broad changes in executive functioning. Open-ended responses were grouped by keywords, and questions could be misinterpreted.
Declared interests
East Carolina University funded the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this bootcamp improves real driving performance or that any single activity caused change. The study measured perceptions on questionnaires, had no comparison group, and most participants lacked on-road driving experience.