Planning to sit for the 2024 CDRS Exam?
Join our support sessions for discussion and answers to your questions.

All sessions will be held live virtual via eLearning and occur at 12 - 1 PM ET

Texas Chapter Meeting

Live-virtual Saturday, January 13, 2024 from 10:00 - 1:00 Central

Registration is complimentary, but you must register.

This is a business-only meeting, no contact hours will be awarded.

The following topics will be open for discussion and collaboration:

1.) Current DPS & MAB operating procedures w/emphasis on testing with equipment and re-testing after stroke, TBI, new cognitive diagnosis, etc.

2.) Current understanding of the MAB and its role.

3.) Physician and eye doctor's roles in the DPS & MAB process, DL-177 & DL 63. How do we think these forms should be used?

4.) Vision requirements for driving in TX, including field of view requirements.

5.) TTI approval list & how to access TTI website information.

6.) Relative case studies from various CDRSs across the state. Open discussion.

7.) Limited options for our vendors provide us concerning high-tech equipment and the insistence that it all be the same brand.

Northwest Chapter Meeting December 8, 2023

Complimentary for ADED Members |  contact hours are not offered for this meeting

Agenda (subject to change) PACIFIC TIME

12:00 - 12:15 PM  Welcome

12:15 - 1:00 PM    Presentation by Oregon DMV

1:00 - 1:20 PM      Discussion on plans for future NW chapter.  Join another chapter (i.e. Colorado)

1:20 - 1:30            Conclusion

This area houses numerous resources for the field of driver rehabilitation.

The Driving Risk Calculator (DRC) is a framework that organizes the results from standardized clinical tests to help determine when an individual should or should not be referred for an On the Road Driving assessment.  It was developed for use by OT clinicians across a health care system.  The developer worked with the ADED Research Committee to survey ADED members for feedback on the DRC framework as a method for clinical reasoning. This recording will present the Driving Risk Calculator framework, background and purpose.  It will demonstrate the tests used in the DRC. It will also discuss how the DRC is used as part of clinical reasoning and the development of client recommendations.  The process used to develop the ADED survey, survey results and research path will be examined. 

After registering you will be able to view all content. 

• The Content Tab contains videos to explain the Driving Risk Calculator and all of the resources/references. 
• There are (3) Driving Risk Calculator Forms found in the Handouts Tab. Please be sure you are using Google Chrome as your browser to open the forms. 

The CDRS & the Mobility Equipment Dealer: How it Works in the Real World
November 15, 2021 - 7 PM ET

Join us for a fun, fast-paced conversation with Jenny Nordine (OTR/L, CDRS – Driving To Independence) and Chad Blake (mobility equipment dealer – Ability Center, United Access & Adaptive Driving Access) as they take a refreshingly candid look at how the dealer / DRS relationship REALLY works.

These two have worked closely with each other for over 15 years, and their shared experiences will have you nodding along sympathetically when you are not cracking up laughing! Listen and learn as they address the current challenges of equipment shortages and delivery backlogs, as well as tips and tricks for getting the most out of your CDRS / MED relationship.

Sponsored by: NMEDA 

About the Speakers: 

Chad Blake – Senior Vice President Sales & Store Operations - Arch Retail

Chad began working for Ability Center in 2006 as the Phoenix store manager and has held various positions within the company since then.  Currently, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of all Arch Retail Locations. Chad currently serves on the NMEDA Board of Directors and has also served as the Chair of the Phoenix Mayor’s Commission on Disability Issues. 

Through his various career experiences, Chad has learned that in order to be successful, we must effectively work with PEOPLE.  “I always tell our company’s team that we are in the PEOPLE business.  Above all else, our focus is on a positive outcome for the customer. If we always put the customer first and work as a team to find their best possible mobility solution, we are fulfilling our promise as a mobility dealer.  That same attitude applies to our entire industry.”

Jenny Nordine – OTR/L, CDRS -Driving to Independence

Jenny Nordine, OTR/L, CDRS began her occupational therapy private practice, Driving to Independence, specializing in adaptive driving and equipment recommendations in 2000. She founded Driving To Independence to address clients’ community independence and transportation needs and continues to make this her mission. Jenny has completed her credentials as a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist to ensure the high standards required to maintain this area of specialty.

Jenny has presented at multiple conferences on the subject of Adaptive Drivers Assessment and Training including the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists, the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, Arizona Occupational Therapy Association, American Stroke Association, A.T. Still University, and Midwestern University. Jenny is also a past president of the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED).

This 7-hour course addresses empirically based methods for evaluating the cognitive, visual, visual perceptual, behavioral and executive functions which are required to drive. These capacities are often not evident to the outside observer or to the driver. We will address symptoms and diagnoses that raise special concerns for driving. After a presentation of some of the major resources and test protocols, we will focus on their use in transitioning to behind-the-wheel assessment and training with a focus on reviewing clinical deficits effects on performance and appropriate training approaches for clients. The workshop will offer best practices in documentations and communication with the client and other professionals. The workshop will also review strategies for intervention, re-evaluation and address when training may be implemented/recommended or discontinued. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Recognize hidden cognitive, perceptual and behavioral deficits related to neurological pathology that may impact the driving task.
2. Identify several evidence-based off-road clinical procedures to assess these deficits.
3. Develop skills to analyze the results of a clinical assessment in relation to potential difficulties that may arise during assessment behind the wheel and, ultimately, in driving.
4. Develop skills to interpret how clinical deficit may affect driving performance and identify factors that will determine client’s potential for training.
5. Develop skills for writing an effective plan of care, documenting reportable outcomes to client, family, physicians and state agencies and how best to communicate outcomes to clients, funding agencies and mobility dealers.
6. Understand BTW training techniques that may address cognitive perceptual difficulties and recognize training approaches that meet the needs of all level clients.
7. Recognize potential outcomes of training and use of objective re-assessment to ensure progression of skill development while identifying when clients may be discharged or if training should be terminated.
8. Develop skills for intervention planning for clients with cognitive perceptual or physical difficulties.

Speakers: Rosamond Gianutsos Psychologist, Ph.D., FAAO, CDRS & Amanda Plourde, COTA/L, CDI, CDRS
7 ADED Contact Hours

Help Hope Live 

Sonny Mullen, Outreach Manager discusses the Help Hope Live program and how it can benefit clients. 

Help Hope Live supports community-based fundraising for people with unmet medical expenses and related costs due to cell and organ transplants or catastrophic injuries and illnesses. Even with insurance, a health crisis can become a financial crisis. Since 1983, Help Hope Live has helped thousands of people raise millions of dollars for to pay a wide range of expenses, including out-of-pocket costs for: medications, durable medical equipment, home health care, wheelchair-accessibility modifications, physical therapy, innovative treatments, medical travel and temporary relocation, even emergency living assistance. Our program has also helped thousands pay it forward and assist others with their medical expenses.

Please join ADED for this virtual Town Hall and learn about the latest publication, The Role of Driver Rehabilitation in Determining Fitness to Drive: Recommendations for State Driver License Agencies. Cassy Churchill, Chair Government Relations Committee, will review the document and share how you can take this information back to your state’s motor vehicle administrators and start the conversation about how driver rehabilitation can support licensing decisions.  Members of the Government Relations Committee will also be on hand to share information and answer questions. 

This town hall is open to ADED Members only and is complimentary. 

This area houses numerous resources for the field of driver rehabilitation.