An exploratory investigation: are driving simulators appropriate to teach pre‐driving skills to young adults with intellectual disabilities?

Abstract

Accessible summary There were many driving education studies with adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the 1960s and 1970s, but since, very little research has been carried out. This study explored using an interactive driving simulator for teaching adults with intellectual disabilities to learn pre‐driving skills (lane keeping and speed maintenance). The simulator succeeded in rapid identification of the drivers' capabilities and limitations, providing skill practise that would be unsafe on roadways, creating a fun, effective and flexible learning environment and highlighting the most appropriate areas for future research. Summary Research examining driver training for young adults with intellectual disabilities has been limited since the 1970s. The current pilot and exploratory study investigated teaching pre‐driving skills (i.e. lane keeping and speed maintenance) to young adults with intellectual disabilities using an interactive driving simulator to provide dynamic and immediate feedback to participants as well as quantifiable data to researchers and educators. Four students from a post‐secondary transition course for students with intellectual disabilities (age 21–23) with an average full‐scale IQ of 71.5 (range 64–76) participated. Participants practised their pre‐driving skills (lane keeping and speed maintenance rather than complex driving environments) on a series of driving courses as well as a coordinated muscle movement activity related to driving for 1 h a day, 5 days a week. After 27 days, two of the four participants significantly improved their lane keeping and speed maintenance skills, while two participants failed to demonstrate steady improvement.

Evaluating and Enhancing Driving Ability among Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…young adults with ASD. Only two studies Reimer et al, 2013) license (Adler et al 1995;Brooks et al 2013;Hoffman et al 2002). The purpose of this study is to examine the association between driving 5 6 7…”

“…VRDST offers a safe environment to assess and provide targeted interventions for individuals who are in the process of obtaining a driver's license (Adler, Resnick, Kunz, & Devinsky, 1995;Brooks, Mossey, Collins, & Tyler, 2013;Hoffman, Lee, Brown, & McGehee, 2002). Applied to the needs of adolescents and young adults with ASD, the use of VRDST allows a controlled and safe environment, naturalistic settings, repetition, modified scenarios to foster generalization of learned skills, a primarily visual world, preferred computer interactions, reduced boredom and fatigue, individualized approach, and the inclusion of eye-tracking (Bölte, 2004;Parsons, Mitchell, & Leonard, 2004;Strickland, 1997).…”

“…Virtual reality driving simulation (VRDS) offers an ideal, safe environment to assess and provide targeted intervention for individuals who are in the process of obtaining a driver's license (Adler et al 1995;Brooks et al 2013;Hoffman et al 2002). Specifically, VRDS can be used to:…”

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“…In contrast, there are people who are disadvantaged because of their association with ethnic minority groups. Evidence suggests that young drivers with ADHD (Curry, Yerys, Metzger, Carey, & Power, 2019;Jerome, Segal, & Habinski, 2006), a mental disability (Brooks, Mossey, Tyler, & Collins, 2014) or a member of minority ethnic group such as indigenous Australians (Cercarelli, 1994;Cercarelli & Knuiman, 2002;Clapham, Senserrick, Ivers, Lyford, & Stevenson, 2008), indigenous Canadians (Desapriya, Fujiwara, Verma, Babul, & Pike, 2011) and Maoris (Sargent et al, 2004) have an increased risk of crashing or other negative driving outcome.…”

“…Very little research in the field of driver education has been undertaken with individuals who have an intellectual disability since the 1970s (Brooks et al, 2014). It is therefore difficult to identify if these individuals have higher crash rates.…”