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Return to ADDvisor Volume 2 2000 Index
Number 10 May 15, 2000 In this issue: 1. ADHD, Teens and Driving 2. Resources - ADHD Report ============================================= ADHD, TEENS AND DRIVING ============================================= ********EDITOR'S NOTE: After we published this issue, we received emails from Marlene Snyder and Rae Hemphill, clarifying some errors that were present in the following article. Please read the follow up article in Volume 2 Number 11 June 1, 2000.********* ============================================= Within the span of a week I received two articles about ADHD teens and driving. The first came in Russell Barkley’s The ADHD Report and the second came via a list serve for psychologists to which I belong. In The ADHD Report, Laurence Jerome and Al Segal review the literature in the following areas: child psychiatry on the nature of ADHD, adult psychology and psychiatry on problem driving, problem behavior theory and the relationship between alcohol use and problem driving. They found that the unifying theme in these areas was "cognitive impulsivity". Loosely defined, "cognitive impulsivity" is acting first, thinking second. Poor self control is the mostly likely at the root of a tendency toward dangerous driving. Because driving requires significant self-control, it is a small wonder that ADHD individuals have a higher accident rate than do non-ADHD individuals. The leading cause of death in young adults is motor vehicle crashes. 70% of these crashes are attributed to driver error. Jerome and Segal feel that an assessment of behavioral disinhibition and other executive functions. (Executive functions are defined by Barkley as those self-directed actions of the individual that are being used to self-regulate.) The article by Gay Frankenfield, WebMD Medical News, that I found on my list serve is more practical in its advice. An educator, Marlene Snyder, PhD, states that young adults with ADHD are four times more likely to be in car accidents and are four times more likely to be at fault. A study in New Zealand found that as attentional difficulties increased, bad driving outcomes increased. Bad outcomes are defined as: car accidents, driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, street racing, and traffic violations. Dr. Snyder and Rae Hemphill, a chapter coordinator for CHADD, collaborated on about teens and driving in ATTENTION Magazine, Vol. 5, Number 4. In that article, they used statistics from Russell Barkley's Milwaukee Adult Outcome Study -- and also from the National Highway Safety Stats. They presented this information at a workshop at the CHADD conference and CHADD will be publishing their written materials sometime this fall. We are reprinting a section of that article with their permission. HELPING YOUR TEEN DEVELOP SAFE DRIVING HABITS Parents need to help their teen learn to regulate impulsive and inattentive behavior that leads to unsafe driving behaviors. When you drive, set a good example. Your actions are much more important than your directions. To establish safe driving behaviors, you should: I. Provide as much supervised driving time as possible to your child when she has her learner’s permit. II. Schedule frequent, short (30 minutes or less), well-planned driving sessions. Patience is essential. Try to remain calm and relaxed during the sessions. These lessons should continue even after the teenager obtains his license. Remember that AD/HD is not a problem of knowing what to do. The problem is with performance –– doing what you know! Teach your teen to drive as though his life depends upon it –– because it does! III. After your teen learns basic driving skills, carefully expose her to many different driving conditions: wet roads, rainy or windy weather, snow and ice, crowded two lane roads, interstate highways, rural roads, night driving, etc. Be aware that risks increase when your teen driver and her peers drive together without adults present. Don’t assume your child will drive the same way with peers in the car as when you are present. The best policy is not to allow your teen to drive with other teens, and you should never allow other teens to drive your car. IV. Prohibit late night driving that’s unsupervised. Teen outings late at night tend to be recreational and pose additional risk for accidents. V. Insist on seat belt use at all times. VI. Strictly enforce no drinking and driving rules. VII. Choose safe cars for driving, and retain ownership of the car the teen drives. The combination of high-performance, flashy cars and a young, impulsive driver can be very dangerous. Research from NHTSA shows that teens who own their own cars have more traffic offenses and motor vehicle accidents than those teens who drive cars owned by parents. Teen car owners also received lower than average grades than non-owners. VIII. Role play emergency situations with your teen before he gets a license. Stress the importance of staying at an accident scene. Assemble emergency packets and place them in the glove compartment of all vehicles your teen drives. This packet should include: vehicle registration, insurance card and agent information, emergency phone numbers, home/office phone numbers for parents, coins for emergency phone calls, a list of what to do in case of an accident, a letter about medications being taken and/or allergies. IX. Become educated about and support graduated licensing efforts in your state. (Only twenty-four states have graduated licensing at this time. This requires young drivers to have a learner’’s permit and intermediate license before obtaining full licensure.) X. Administer medications to your child as needed to reduce impulsiveness and inattention. Ask your physician to write a letter stating that the medications they prescribe for AD/HD are safe to use while driving. If your child is required to submit to a blood test or a urinalysis after displaying poor driving behavior, he should immediately supply law enforcement officers with the letter. XI. Use a Teen Driver’s Contract that specifically addresses the issues of teen drivers with AD/HD. XII. Initiate consequences of poor driving performance and contract violations immediately! Delayed consequences decrease significance for teens with AD/HD. Restrict or remove driving privileges as needed. As the parent, you must be in control to teach your teen driver to be responsible for her behavior. X Act - Don’t Yak! Require payment of fines, repairs, or increases in insurance premiums when the behavior of the teen involves added costs. Require your teen to honor financial responsibilities as agreed before restoring driving privileges. All parents struggle with the issues involved when their teenage children begin to drive, but for the parents of teens with AD/HD, there are additional issues that must be carefully considered. The best time to think about your responsibilities as a parent is before your child is ever allowed to get behind the wheel. Once she begins driving, you should continually monitor, coach, and praise her positive driving behaviors and attitudes. You must also be ever vigilant, ready, willing, and able to immediately impose appropriate consequences for rule violations and unsafe driving behaviors to protect your child, other drivers, and yourself. ------------------------------- Finally, think about the fact that ADHD is a developmental disorder in terms of behavioral inhibition. Russell Barkley suggests that ADHD individuals are up to 30% behind their same age peers when it comes to self control. So, even though 16 may be the driving age in your state, would you want a child with the self control of an 11 year old behind the wheel of a car? ============================================= RESOURCES -The ADHD Report ============================================= Russell A. Barkley, one of the foremost researchers in the ADHD field publishes an excellent newsletter entitled, The ADHD Report. In it are articles and abstracts of research that extends the knowledge of ADHD diagnosis and treatment. The ADHD Report is published by Guilford Press and can be accessed at www.guilford.com
CONTACT INFORMATION _______________________ Alan R. Graham, Ph.D. Bill Benninger, Ph.D. ADDvisor.com Voice: 1-866-ADDvisor Fax: 847-824-2386 Email: Alan@ADDvisor.com Bill@ADDvisor.com Web: www.ADDvisor.com
c) Copyright 2000 Alan R. Graham and Bill Benninger. All rights reserved The above material may be retransmitted or distributed to whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed, added or deleted, including the contact information. However, you may not copy it to a web site. Republication of "The ADDvisor" in paper media is encouraged and permitted by organizations and associations which serve parents of ADHD children at the national, state and/or local level as long as the issue is reprinted in its entirety without charge and includes the contact information. With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication is also encouraged under other circumstances, however, the advance permission of Alan R. Graham and/or Bill Benninger must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are desired or republication is to be made by individuals or by organizations other than those mentioned above. |
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