What You Can Expect
An occupational therapist will perform a thorough evaluation assessing limitations in the areas of cognition, arm and hand function, perception and performance of daily activities. Your therapist will work with you and your family to help you toward your functional goals in order to lead a productive life.
St. Vincent Healthcare Outpatient Rehabilitation offers a program to evaluate the safety of drivers. Our "Behind the Wheel" program provides objective data regarding driving skills. To participate in the program you will need a valid driver's license or learner's permit. We assist obtaining a Medical Assessment and Rehabilitation Driving Permit from the Montana Motor Vehicle Division; and a prescription for a driver's evaluation and neuropsychology evaluation from a licensed physician, physician's assistant, or family nurse practitioner.
The driving evaluation contains three types of testing: neuropsychology evaluation – this screening determines cognitive abilities as they relate to safe driving, such as speed of mental processing, reaction times, and visual perception testing. (not required for all driving evaluations; per doctors discretion); in-clinic testing with Occupational Therapy – this testing in our clinic assesses skills such as vision, thinking skills, range of motion and strength in the upper and lower body and other skills necessary for driving; and in-car evaluation – testing driving skills on the road in the rehabilitation care. Our car has the following adaptive equipment available: left foot accelerator, hand controls, and additional adaptive mirrors. Driver's training/practice also available. Call 238-6400 for more information or to set up an appointment.
Low Vision and Visual Perceptual Training
What is low vision? Low vision can be a result from a medical condition such as stroke, macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic neuropathy. A person with low vision may find every day activities problematic; difficulties arise with driving, reading, writing, cooking and everyday functioning.
Visual perception is transforming data supplied by the retina into cognitive concepts that are used to analyze situations and make decisions. An occupational therapist can assist with low vision aids as well as visual perceptual re-training to assist the person with returning to independence with activities of daily living.
Click here to download occupational therapy patient forms.