Driving with hand controls in Tennessee

[Guest guest]

Hi all. I'd be grateful for some information or help on the subject of

driving with hand controls. My hands are in far better shape than my

legs, and I wear some (rather outdated) AFOs. I've been unable to get

the hang of driving with the braces on, and driving with the braces

off leaves me exhausted after about fifteen minutes. I have difficulty

feeling and controlling the pedals with my braces on, and difficulty

stabilizing and maintaining consistent pressure with my braces off.

The exhaustion and control issues are enough to leave me dangerously

unable to control the vehicle, so I've been wanting to look into hand

controls. I've dug up a little bit on government websites here and

there, but neither Voc Rehab nor my searches have really found

anything I can use.

My questions are this:

1. Is there a driver-training class that works on the use of hand

controls?

2. Does said class even exist in Tennessee?

3. How much would it cost?

4. Is this something that I need to just " suck it up " on and try to

force my way through?

Due to some issues with my family during high school, I was never

really allowed to practice driving on a consistent basis, and was

never really " pushed " to learn to adapt. I'm trying to play catch-up

now (recently graduated from college), but it's rather hard. I'd like

the freedom to transport myself, but most attempts at me driving with

either my braces on or off have not gone well. I feel like a failure

for being unable to drive (or even have my license) at 22, but I'm

trying to overcome that. Any help on this subject would be greatly

appreciated. Thank you for your time, everyone.

[Guest guest]

At this time, my right leg is stronger than my left. My last job

required me to travel among 13 schools in a rural district. The

district reimbursed me at the rate of $0.31 per mile, and with gas

being above $2.00 I was severely out of pocket.

In a money saving effort I began using cruise control as much as I

could. It added 4 MPG which made me very happy. What made me more

happy was I wasn't nearly as tired at the day.

I live in the mountains of Virginia and it took a bit of getting used

to using it on hills.

Cruise control is worth trying before going to hand controls.

--Larry

[Guest guest]

Campler,

Where do you live in Tennessee? I live in Knoxville and work at the

University (of Tennessee). One of my colleagues teaches rehab

counseling and she has all sorts of statewide connections to

professionals who provide services such as working out problems of

driving and mobility. I could ask her for contacts for you. Also,

the MDA should be able to help. E-mail me at sbain2@... if you

want me to put you in contact with my colleague.

Sherry