Engaging Mobility Podcast Dr. Terri Cassidy and Susie Touchinsky

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.