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A Driver Training Program Intervention for Student Drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multi-site Randomised Controlled Trial

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Abstract

The purpose of this multi-site randomised controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Driving Training Program, an intervention designed for student drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 72 student drivers with ASD (ages 16–31) who were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Student drivers received ten driving lessons with a professional driving instructor via a standardised driving route. The Driving Performance Checklist was used as the outcome measure to evaluate the driving performance of student drivers during on-road pre- and post-observational drives. Both groups showed an improvement in driving performance, however, the extent of improvement between groups was not significant. Findings showed promising intervention efficacy for training student drivers with ASD to drive.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. The authors would like to thank all participants who were involved in the research. Special thanks to Natasha Mahoney, Amy Pracilio, Dr Sharmila Vaz, and Dr Richard Parsons from Curtin University, and Zhen Lin and Michelle Kersten from Western Sydney University whose contributions made this study possible.

Funding

This research was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Occupational Therapy Social Work and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Priscilla Vindin, Reinie Cordier & Hoe Lee

  2. Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle, United Kingdom

    Reinie Cordier

  3. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Locked Bag 3, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia

    Nathan J. Wilson

  4. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Hoe Lee

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  1. Priscilla Vindin
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  4. Hoe Lee
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Contributions

PV, RC, NW and HL contributed to the design and implementation of this study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Priscilla Vindin.

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Vindin, P., Cordier, R., Wilson, N.J. et al. A Driver Training Program Intervention for Student Drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multi-site Randomised Controlled Trial. J Autism Dev Disord 51, 3707–3721 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04825-5

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