Autistic adolescents and their families may experience barriers to transportation, including independent driving, which is critical to supporting quality of life and engagement in social, educational, and employment opportunities. Healthcare providers may feel unprepared to provide guidance to autistic adolescents, although they are among the…

This study explores the intersection of Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities and driving performance among novice drivers, with a focus on autistic individuals. The purpose is to investigate how ToM deficits may impact driving behaviors and decision-making, ultimately informing the development of tailored interventions and training programs for autistic…

We provide evidence that graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, originally intended to improve public safety, impact human capital accumulation. Many teens use automobiles to access both school and employment. Because school and work decisions are interrelated, the effects of automobile-specific mobility restrictions are ambiguous. Using a novel…

Research suggests that youth rarely seek formal help for their problems and tend to turn for assistance to those with whom they interact regularly. The current investigations examined the help-seeking patterns of teenagers in their relationships with service providers from the service providers' perspectives. A preliminary quantitative study…

To examine change in driving and community mobility outcomes for teens and young adults with autism as a result of participating in an occupational therapy intervention designed as a Bootcamp as perceived by the participants and their parents. Matched questionnaires were completed by novice drivers with autism as well as their parents prior to and…

Concussion is a common injury among adolescents. It is unknown how a concussion affects driving behavior and performance in adolescents. Although there are guidelines for return to learn, exercise, and sports that school nurses can help support in school, little is known about return to driving after concussion. The goal of this integrative review…

Purpose: The readability and comprehensibility of Learner's Permit Knowledge Test practice questions and the relationship with test failure rates across states and the District of Columbia were examined. Method: Failure rates were obtained from department representatives. Practice test questions were extracted from drivers' manuals and department…

"Autism at-a-Glance" is a series of practitioner and family-friendly documents created by the Center on Secondary Education for Students with ASD (CSESA) designed for high school staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents with ASD. The purpose of the "Autism at-a-Glance"…

Autistic adults have decreased independence in community mobility and driving, which is associated with decreased participation in work, education and community participation. This is the first exploration of the development of community mobility, driving and participation skills over adolescence and emerging adulthood. Interviews with 15 mothers…

Background: Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of adolescent death. Cell phone use while driving is a contributor to adolescent motor vehicle crash risk. Objective and directly observable measures of cell phone use while driving are needed to implement interventions aimed at reducing cell phone-related crash risk. Aims: To describe novel…

Gaining a driver's license can be difficult for student drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet little is known about their experiences of learning to drive. In this qualitative study, focus groups and individual interviews were employed to ascertain the perceptions of three participant groups, including people with ASD, parents of people…

Among adolescents (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-25) enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 0.5% of adolescents had opioid use disorder (OUD), 3.0% had other risky opioid use, 3.4% had another substance use disorder, and 21.6% used other substances without disorder. Compared to adolescents, the prevalence…

Driving may increase mobility and independence for adolescents with autism without intellectual disability (autism spectrum disorder); however, little is known about rates of licensure. To compare the proportion of adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder who acquire a learner's permit and driver's license, as well as the rate at…

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of adolescent death. Inattention to the roadway contributes to crash risk and often results from distractions, such as cell phone calls, texting, and peer passengers. We report on the development of a web-based intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior that aims to reduce adolescent driver…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of video modeling and visual task analysis on the acquisition, maintenance, and engagement of washing cars for three Chinese adolescents with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. Video-based training was conducted in the conference room of a university-affiliated autism…