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Driving and Dementia

Driving and Dementia. Debbie Ricker, OTR/L Executive Director The Adaptive Driving Center The Memory Center. Skills Needed for Safe Driving. Visual acuity Visual perceptual s kills Problem solving Decision making Quick reaction time Ability to process information quickly

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Driving and Dementia

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  1. Drivingand Dementia Debbie Ricker, OTR/L Executive Director The Adaptive Driving Center The Memory Center

  2. Skills Needed for Safe Driving • Visual acuity • Visual perceptual skills • Problem solving • Decision making • Quick reaction time • Ability to process information quickly • Ability to multi-task • Memory

  3. Changes with Normal Aging • Often have arthritis, so movements in legs and arms may be slow, range-of-motion may be limited • Peripheral vision becomes limited • Loss of high frequency sounds • Difficulty dividing attention • Brain processes information more slowly • Inability to make quick maneuvers

  4. Compensatory Strategies Older adults may be able to learn compensatory strategies: • Use a GPS if he/she gets lost easily • Limit driving to day time • Drive surface streets only • Restrict driving on rainy/snowy days • Stay off the road during rush hour traffic

  5. Reasons Older Adults May Stop Driving • Difficulty paying for car upkeep, gas, insurance • May become nervous or angry when driving • Visual difficulties • Slower reaction time • Lack the confidence to drive • Medical conditions or medications that interfere with driving • Pattern of near misses

  6. Dementia Causes… • Impaired abstract reasoning • Difficulty with multi-tasking • Lack of accurate self assessment • Slower reaction time • Slower processing of information • Easily confused with busy traffic, sudden movements of other cars, construction zones • Confusion about which is the gas pedal and which is the brake

  7. Medical Professionals May Observe Patients Who … • Have difficulty filling out forms • Do not take medications correctly • Have visual impairments • Have problems with coordination or ambulation • Forget appointments

  8. Time to Stop Driving? • Gets honked at a lot • Stops at green lights • Has difficulty staying in the correct lane position • Complains of cars “coming out of nowhere” • Gets lost, even when driving to familiar places • Is easily distracted (by conversation, turning on radio or heater or air conditioner) • Unexplainable scratches or dents on car

  9. If concerned about driving of an individual… • Refer to an Occupational Therapy Driving Program • www.aota.org • 301-652-2682 • www.aota.org/olderdriver (information about older adult drivers, links to other web sites)

  10. More Information • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/olderdriver • Alzheimer’s Association http://www.alz.org • AARP http://www.aarp.org • American Medical Association http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/10791.html Guide book for Physicians

  11. Debbie Ricker, OTR/L • DBRCKR@aol.com • 562-760-1400

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