Case Managers

At Williams Occupational Therapy, we understand that you, as the case manager, are the primary contact for both the employer and the client, the insurance agency and the client, or the client and outside/other services. We understand that this can take a lot of coordination and effort and that is why we try to make your job as easy as possible. Williams Occupational Therapy is here for when a driver’s driving safety and function have been impacted by injury or illness.

Williams OT can assess for cars, trucks, forklifts, buses, motorcycles, farm, and other machinery. If it has wheels we can assess someone’s functional capacity to control it.

What happens if the injury to your client impacts driving?

An injury can impact a client in many different ways.

A physical injury can impact strength and power and cause pain and fatigue. Such issues can impact driver safety influencing the client’s ability to drive to and from work, or for work-related purposes. Such stresses can reduce the safety and function of steering control, pedal control, or reduce sitting tolerance.
A brain injury can impact concentration, judgment, and problem solving and cause issues with reaction to changing traffic scenarios.
A vision injury can impact vehicle positioning and stopping distances and missing objects.

When is a referral to Williams OT appropriate:

If your worker or client has stopped driving due to an injury or disease, and they wish to explore the possibility of returning to driving. This is important if driving is their primary mode of transport and/or part of their work duties.
Where it has been raised in the team meetings, or in one-on-one meetings with your client, that driving has become an issue due to the injuries sustained, or that their license was put on hold during the recovery period.
Where there is a belief that your client has returned to driving too soon and maybe putting others in danger.
Where there is a need to know if your client has more ability to drive than they are currently demonstrating.
Where there is a concern regarding a worker’s suitability and safety for driving as their primary work role.
Where the activity of driving aggravates the worker’s symptoms, or the worker’s symptoms are impacting on their ability to drive.

An occupational therapy driving assessment can help your client return to safe driving where possible, and as soon as possible in a safe and appropriate manner.

An occupational therapy driving assessment is a comprehensive functional assessment that includes both an initial assessment and an on road component. This type of assessment is considered the gold standard for determining fitness to drive internationally (Kay et al, 2008) and can take up to 3 hours to complete.

Williams Occupational Therapy has qualified and experienced driver assessors for all types of vehicles. This includes, but is not limited to:

light vehicles for the drive to and from work, daily life, but also at work.
motorcycle or scooter
van, mini-bus or large passenger bus
light rigid, medium rigid, heavy rigid, heavy combination, and multiple combination trucks
forklift and plant operation
mining and farm machinery

As an established provider in the Return To Work SA Injury Management and Insurance sector, Williams Occupational Therapy Driver Assessment and Rehabilitation service has a great deal of understanding of the process and the respective goals of all parties involved. If you have concerns about your client’s medical fitness to drive, Williams Occupational Therapy is the ideal corporate partner.

What to do now.

If you have a client that you believe needs to see our Occupational therapy driver assessors, please complete the below information gathering page and we will be in contact with you shortly to complete the referral process.

If you have the possibility of clients in the future that may be in need of an occupational therapy driver assessment or rehabilitation program, please sign up for our e-newsletter where you will be able to keep up to date with current information. You can sign up at the bottom of this page.

Otherwise, send us an email at admin@williamsot.com. Here you can ask questions about your situation and find out more information specific to your needs

We thank you for taking the time to make this initial contact with Williams Occupational Therapy.

Download a Williams OT referral form here