Return to Driving, Return to Work – Using Driver Simulation Technology
Northwest Return to Work (NWRTW) is the only outpatient medical rehabilitation clinic in Washington State with the driver simulation technology to help injured workers get back on the road using our Advanced Driver Simulator.
Case Study
Northwest Return to Work’s Brain Injury Rehab Treatment program (BIRT) had great success recently using our clinical expertise, our Advanced Driver Simulator, and our community partnership with a local driver rehabilitation company.
This is a story of Mabel. Mabel was involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving to a work location for her house cleaning job. The accident resulted in both physical trauma (orthopedic and TBI) and psychological trauma. Her psychological diagnosis of PTSD manifested partially in a disabling fear of driving.
As part of her BIRT program Mabel’s team recommended use of our Advanced Driver’s Simulator as a means of a safe exposure to attempt to overcome her fears.
The Virage VS500M Driving Simulator
Mabel agreed to try it, but her treatment took a lot of gradual steps. On her first day she had difficulty being in the room with the driver’s simulator team. With her care team’s help, she was able to progress to a point she could sit in the driver seat with the simulator turned off. The following week she was able to sit in the seat and began taking short, simulated drives. Towards the end of her treatment, she was taking long simulated drives without fear.
To help Mabel transition from simulated to real world driving, Northwest Return to Work connected her with our local Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS), Jennifer Fox. Jen is the owner of Drive Rehab Services (driverehabservices.com). Here’s what Jen had to say about working NWRTW and how Mabel’s success.
“As a result of [working on the simulator] Mabel was ready for and could complete my evaluation. I was able to confirm her fitness to drive with restrictions and recommended a progressive approach to driving in traffic and busy areas.
There are a lot of benefits from intervention training using a simulator to replicate scenarios and gradually expose individuals with these issues to driving before performing the comprehensive evaluation.
I appreciate being able to work with NWRTW and I think the combination of our services is beneficial to injured workers.”
-Jennifer Fox, PT, CDRS – Drive Rehab Services
Driving is a key part of life, and if an injury is affecting your ability to drive, it may affect your ability to return to work. NWRTW prides itself on being the only outpatient medical rehabilitation clinic in Washington State with the driver simulation technology to help injured workers get back on the road through practice in a realistic, controlled environment.
If you or one of your clients has concerns about returning to driving our Advanced Driving Simulator may be just what they need. CONTACT US for more information about this and our many other services for injured workers.