Community Corner
Students at Y.A.L.E. School Transition to Mobility Independence
A state-of-the-art driving simulator program prepares students with disabilities for driving.
Cherry Hill NJ - Students with disabilities are often faced with the issue of mobility as they transition to life after high school. The Y.A.L.E. School, a state-approved private school in Cherry Hill, allows educators and therapists that have developed strategies to help students on the autism spectrum reach higher levels of independence by introducing a new Mobility Matters program, which includes a unique driving simulator program.
The DriveSafety program exposes students to real-life driving situations in the safety of the classroom. According to Linda Mason, an Occupational Therapist at Y.A.L.E. School, students on the autism spectrum or who have ADHD typically find it challenging to see the “big picture” while driving and are at greater risk for accidents.
Mason helped to develop a the Mobility Matters program for students at Y.A.L.E. School, including the DriveSafety Program and instruction designed to help students learn how to use public transportation.
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Students are behind the wheel with the DriveFit software, engaged in an interactive virtual driving simulator. Dr. Johnell Brooks, a Clemson University associate professor and Human Factors Psychologist, who uses driving simulators in her research with people on the autism spectrum, recently trained educators at Y.A.L.E. School to begin implementing the driving simulator. Y.A.L.E. School invited Miriam Monahan of DriveFit Inc. to meet with parents considering whether their teen or young adult with ASD or ADHD is ready to learn how to drive. Highlights of the presentation are available through Vimeo.
About Y.A.L.E. School Cherry Hill: Y.A.L.E. School’s Cherry Hill campus serves students with ages 5-21 who have learning and social disabilities as well as emotional and/or social difficulties including anxiety disorder, ADHD, Asperger’s disorder and/or mood or personality disorders. The campus offers 21st-century life and career skills through transition concentration for students ages 17 to 21 so as to help prepare them for post-secondary education, work and independent living. Students are placed by their local school district and attend at no cost to parents. Further information is available via (856) 482-5252 or by visiting the Y.A.L.E. School website.
