That Car Talk special needs zone is a great site, BTW!  Thanks.

This young man- can't he transfer from the chair to the car?  If his upper
body strength is good, consider instead a two-door car, quite a few folks
can transfer then load their chair in behind them.  Hand controls should
not be a big problem at all, and if he has no other problems at all, and
has a driver's license or permit, gettign them installed, gettign the
behind-the-wheel eval, and maybe a little training to use them (they are
actually pretty easy, maybe easier than using your feet) he should be on
his way to passign the state police behding the wheel test and on the road
in no time.  Before he does take a specialized assessment of any sort,
they usually require passing the written exam and gettign a permit first.
Good luck to you and him- and do not think of him as "wheelchair bound"-
he sounds like he is more "wheelchair mobile."

Some folks may actually not really need the specialized eval- for example
someone with paraplegia due to spinal cord injury- but with CP, it is
probably advisable as there is an incidence of visual percptual problems
that may require compensation or extra training, or may be a real real
obstacle to driving safely for some people.

Best regards,

Vikki Stefans, pediatric physiatrist (rehab doc for kids), e-mail junkie,
working Mom of Sarah T. and Michael C., and wife of Henry "My Travel Agent",
Arkansas Children's Hospital/ U of A for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, aka
[log in to unmask] ...and EVERY mom is a working mom! (OK, dads too.)


On Fri, 9 Mar 2001, patricia wrote:

> I need to find a resource for a young handicapped man in Dayton,
> Ohio.  He's
> in his early 20's. Wheelchair bound (cerebal palsy).
> Does not walk at all, but other than that everything else functions
> normally. He would be able to drive an adaptive vehicle. First though
> he would need to find a way to take drivers training --- in an
> adaptive vehicle with HAND controls.
>
> after he's accomplished that...
> then he would need to find a used adaptive vehicle to purchase.
> one where he on is own could get into it IN his wheelchair and
> remain IN his wheelchair while driving...