Engaging Mobility Podcast

Elin Schold Davis of AOTA is the perfect guest to bring us background as well as the most up to date information about Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. She talks with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy about perceptions of driving evaluations and the benefit of having open discussions about driving abilities. The media campaign is December 6-10th and the goal is to involve more practitioners as well as members of the public in conversations about older driver safety. Please visit AOTA's site for links to resources. https://www.aota.org/conference-events/older-driver-safety-awareness-week.aspx And here is the link to AOTA's Database to find an OT Practitioner who specializes in Driving: https://myaota.aota.org/driver_search

Dr. Lodha joins Dr. Cassidy to discuss her latest research on the effects of motor and cognitive impairment on driving and mobility. Dr. Lodha's research focuses on adults over the age of 65, looking at people who have had a stroke as well as older adults without a medical condition. She discusses intriguing findings about fluctuations in performance and prediction of cognitive decline. Neha Lodha, PhD is an assistant professor at the department of health and exercise science at Colorado State University. Dr. Lodha studies functional mobility impairments including driving, walking and falls in older adults and those with neurological deficits. She completed her undergraduate degree in engineering from India and a Ph.D. degree in Kinesiology from the University of Florida. For an early stage in her career, she has been continually supported by American Heart Association’s predoctoral, postdoctoral and scientist development grants as well as NIH’s R21 grants. Her current research work has been supported by the National Institute of Health’s K01 grant, the Colorado Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the American Heart Association. Two research studies are currently underway and are seeking participants. Please call 970-491-7663 if you are interested. https://www.chhs.colostate.edu/hes-hpcrl/research/movement-neuroscience-and-rehabilitation-laboratory/

In this episode Terri and Susie discuss the GRID (Generalists Resource to Integrate Driving). This is a resource for occupational therapy practitioners to address driving with clients in their clinical setting. This brief primer has tips and practical information for using the GRID. You can access the GRID for free at www.adaptivemobility.thinkific.com. Scroll to page two under All Courses.

Dr. Anne Dickerson joins Dr. Cassidy and Susie to discuss the older driver safety programs that she has been involved with. These projects are funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and materials can be adapted for use in other states. She encourages OT's to get involved in their state programs! Dr. Anne Dickerson dickersona@ecu.edu Awarded ECU’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Research and Scholarly Activity in 2018 Director of the Research for Older Adult Driver Initiative (ROADI) Editor of Occupational Therapy in Health Care

Dr. Terri Cassidy is the interviewee for this episode! We are sharing an interview that aired on the radio show Senior Talk, hosted by Greg Coopman of Heartfelt Care at Home. Dr. Cassidy shares her perspective about occupational therapy driving evaluations as well as the new program at Health Promotion Partners, Aging Well by Design.

Dr. Miriam Monahan, OTD, OTR/L, CDRS, CDI joins Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy to discuss occupational therapy expertise for driver training. We discuss the role of executive function in visual search and discusses cases that demonstrate this. Dr. Monahan describes how the Drive Focus app can help individuals gain skills in this area. Dr. Miriam Monahan, is an occupational therapist and certified driving rehabilitation specialist. She has over 20 years of experience in driving rehabilitation, and is recognized for her clinical and behind-the-wheel evaluation and intervention skills. She is founder of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Driver Rehabilitation Institute and the developer of the Drive Focus application. For more information please visit drivefocus.com and driverrehabinstitute.org.

Susan Pierce, OTR, SCDCM, CDRS is known and loved by driving rehabilitation specialists around the country. As the kick-off to Season Three, Susan Pierce shares her thoughts about her career and the field of driver rehabilitation with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy. As the founder of Adaptive Mobility Services, Susan has trained hundreds of occupational therapists in their journey to become specialists in driver rehabilitation. She is a true advocate for the field and is always willing to share. Join us as we sit down with one of the best!

Abray Stillson, Program Advisor for AARP Driver Safety, shares exciting news about CarFit with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy. Virtual CarFit courses are going on now, just in time for Older Driver Safety Awareness Week. For more information please visit https://www.car-fit.org/ and click on the link for Virtual Workshop.

Elin Schol Davis, of AOTA, discusses Older Driver Safety Awareness Week with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy. She gives background about the week, ideas for ways to participate, and shares her great perspective on older adults and driving decisions. For more information on Older Driver Safety Awareness Week please visit https://www.aota.org/Conference-Events/Older-Driver-Safety-Awareness-Week.aspx

Dr. Johnell Brooks shares her knowledge about the use of driving simulators with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Terri Cassidy. She discusses simulators as part of occupational therapy practice and how to avoid simulator sickness for your clients. Johnell Brooks is a Human Factors Psychologist. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Automotive Engineering at Clemson University’s International Center of Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) and a clinical researcher collaborating with numerous healthcare systems. She works with interdisciplinary research teams to develop tools to enable aging drivers, wounded warriors, young adults on the autism spectrum, etc. to maximize their independence using clinical driving simulators and robotic furnishings. She has over 50 commercialized invention disclosures. She teaches young engineers the importance of considering the consumers when developing concept vehicles in the Deep Orange concept vehicle program at CU-ICAR. She is developing requirements for future autonomous vehicles from a broad range of users. You can learn more about Dr. Brooks at https://www.clemson.edu/cecas/departments/automotive-engineering/people/brooks.html

Susie Touchinsky, owner of Adaptive Mobility Services, is the guest rather than the host of this episode. She and Dr. Terri Cassidy discuss stories of a few clients who had thought that they could no longer drive and whose lives were changed when they realized the possibilities. Susie Touchinsky, OTR/L, SCDCM, CDRS is an occupational therapist & certified driver rehabilitation specialist, with experience as a driving instructor, and owner of Adaptive Mobility Services, LLC. You can learn more about her client services as well as her education for occupational therapists at adaptivemobility.com.

Angel Bond, Mobility Manager for Boulder County, Colorado, discusses her award winning program Mobility For All with Dr. Terri Cassidy. She describes why she sees transportation as key to equity and what she and her team are doing to make services accessible for all. She also discusses a new program to help older adults access transportation information online, the Technology Ambassador Program. Angel Bond is the Boulder County Mobility for All Program Manager. Angel’s work ranges from facilitating the Mobility for All Coordinating Coalition to planning and implementing projects that improve access to multimodal transportation options for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and low-income households. She led the Mobility for All Technology Ambassador Project, which was awarded the 2020 Boulder County Pinnacle Award for Inclusion by the Board of County Commissioners. Angel is passionate about equity, collective impact, and inclusive planning to achieve human-centered, transportation solutions. She prides herself on creating dynamic teams and a positive culture of innovation. She can be reached at Mobilityforall@bouldercounty.org. The Mobility For All website is https://www.bouldercounty.org/transportation/multimodal/mobilityforall/

Dr. Neha Lodha discusses her research at Colorado State University’s Movement Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Lab with Dr. Terri Cassidy. She shares her research results about the importance of rehabilitation therapy to regain motor control and the impact on mobility – both walking and driving. This educational episode offers insights for individuals who have experienced a stroke as well as ideas for occupational and physical therapists who work with individuals to recover their full life after a stroke. Show Notes: Neha Lodha, PhD is a researcher and assistant professor at Colorado State University’s Movement Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Lab. You can find out more about her work at https://www.chhs.colostate.edu/hes-hpcrl/research/movement-neuroscience-and-rehabilitation-laboratory/ The MNR Lab is currently recruiting participants for 2 new studies: Fall Risk and Driving and is also looking for a doctoral student and a research coordinator. Contact Dr. Lodha at Neha.Lodha@colostate.edu

Occupational Therapists Catherine Flemming and Amy Raphael discuss their role at the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority with Susie Touchinsky and Dr. Cassidy. They discuss the benefits of introducing seniors and individuals with disabilities to public transportation. They enable others to enhance their mobility independence every day. Show Notes: Guests Catherine Flemming OTR/L, and Amy Raphael OTR/L work at the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Jessica Sandgren, Mayor Pro Tem for the city of Thornton Colorado, speaks with Dr. Terri Cassidy about transportation programs in the city. She begins with an update related to COVID-19 and then discusses Thornton’s focus on transportation options for seniors.

Shira Greenstone and Mary Lea Habegger speak with Susie Touchinsky about a revolutionary system for early detection of cognitive changes in older adults. Mynd You is a platform that was developed to be used by occupational therapists working with older adults. The software analyzes a client’s patterns of speech, walking, and driving and can alert practitioners to health changes.

Lisa Bitzer and Susan Unger discuss the transportation services that are available through Via Mobility. They discuss how this non-profit organization is able orient participants to the transportation options that are available for their particular need, provide door through door transportation, as well as provide in-depth travel instruction to teach individuals to use public transportation to expand their transit world.

Al Crosby, Pennsylvania state coordinator for Driver Safety Programs with AARP, speaks with Susie Touchinsky to highlight a few of the driver safety programs that AARP supports. We are introduced their new workshop Smart DriverTEK as well as long standing favorites such as CarFit and We Need to Talk.

We begin Season 2 with an interview of Dr. Terri Cassidy by Greg Coopman of Senior Talk. Dr. Cassidy shares details about older driver evaluations and how we can help keep older drivers safe and mobile.