Jane’s story: Driving with a mild cognitive impairment

Jane came to our Thetford centre in December 2023 for a driving assessment after the memory clinic referred her to our services. Jane was diagnosed with a mild cognitive impairment 9 years ago. Whilst she continued to live a lively, active, and independent life including driving, at 80 she began to notice a decline in her cognitive abilities, such as poor balance and brain fog. The memory clinic advised Jane to stop driving but also referred her to EAD for a driving assessment.

Read Jane’s experience with us below:

What brought you to DriveAbility? 

Nine years ago, at the age of 71, I was diagnosed with M.C.I. (Mild Cognitive Impairment).  It was a watershed piece of information that I had requested. Which I felt I needed to have, to inform me and help me decide how to organise my future.

Should I take up a ‘semi-supported’ flatlet, nearby my home…? ..or was there an alternative..?

In discussion with my five son’s.. I decided to sell up my home and (at his invitation) ..to join up with the youngest of them. And his partner and their young family of thee ..home educating… youngsters. Then they were only three, now five (so.. similar in size, to my own family)

It seemed right.

They.. were too crowded where they were (..on the outskirts of Norwich city centre) …and longed for a large garden more suitable for home educated children than their tiny, terraced home provided.  And I (..right in the inner city of Cambridge ..on the busy and noisy, inner ring road)  ..was often rather lonely. And needed to feel my future was secure (..whatever it might hold). Even with the diagnosis of M.C.I. I was still (as yet), lively and active and independent in all areas of life. This including driving.

For the foreseeable future anyway …by joining them… I wouldn’t be needing any support from them at all (…not for a long time hopefully ..if at all, i thought). So, I wouldn’t add to their already demanding lifestyle. We moved into a smallish old home with a newish triple garage ripe for conversion into an Annex) …and …joy of joys ..with a HUGE garden (ideal for their Home Ed. family)…deep in the countryside …with just one other near neighbour ..surrounded only by fields and corn and cows ..for miles and miles. The nearest place for amenities being ..a reasonable (by car).. 4 miles away.

And with the help of my eldest son, he and I set about converting the triple garage into a forever home ..for myself. However..  just after my 80th birthday ..my mental abilities ..began to let me down badly ..cognition was difficult. Poor balance,  brain fog, brain fog ..I had to start letting people know my problem. But ..determined to hang on to my independence, as a last resort I .. requested help from my GP…it was not a convenient time for my lovely,  nearby family, to have a dependant elderly person, on their hands, to care for. They were, if possible, even MORE busy ..with Home Ed. Plus the addition of two more darling little people ….a one year old and a three year old.

My GP ..was wonderful. Insisting on a full health screening ..as well as a Memory Clinic Assessment referral. And (although I was not to know then) .. in the event of the interventions, I experienced.. the symptoms of confusion etc., I described here previously, have now been considerably calmed. I have always hated addressing medical issues …and during this time ..anxiety set in.. adding to my confusion. So when I finally got to see a Memory Clinic psychiatrist, I was in a pretty poor state. My GP gave me their feedback ..part of it was ..that ..i should stop driving!!

…How would I cope….?? …was my first thought. And then (..much more importantly) …WAS I an ACTUAL danger on the roads?? …to OTHERS? (I couldn’t live with that) ..to myself? I had never thought that I was..  in any way. It just hasn’t occurred to me. Rather. I felt that I was a GOOD driver ..with a huge wealth of driving experience behind me, which had only informed me ..and added to the safety of my driving. I was flooded with disbelief …and.. with a heavy feeling of forbidding and of guilt.

..BUT THE INFORMATION CAME …with a LIFELINE. It was ..was my buoyancy aid, in an overflow of shock ..and emotional flood! The memory clinic had also advised about a Driveability Assessment Centre in operation, in the UK ….it was…EAST ANGLIA DRIVEABILITY… And conveniently for me ..they had an office nearby ..in Thetford.

What was your experience of the assessment?

I was met by a team of two professionals. An Occupational Therapist ..dealing with the client’s physical and their cognitive abilities to drive, and an Advanced (and highly experienced), Driving Instructor and Assessor.. who ..using their own dual controls cars, assessed the client’s actual driving. I was in a high state of tension ..it seemed as if so, much was resting on the outcome. Both professionals. Understood this ..going out of their way to put me at my ease. Also, by providing a car that I would find familiar ..exactly matching my own small, familiar Honda Civic. It sounds trite to say this ..but.. they were both equally able and so supportive.

They were wonderful!!. …they were.

And by the conclusion of my driving assessment ..they had made me feel just as if …whilst still on a professional standing, I was ‘one of the family’. Sitting alone, awaiting the outcome ..whilst the two professionals, compared findings ..I wondered how long they would be…?

But in a moment, they were back ..AND

…with the good news…

In spite of all my obvious shortcomings  ..my anxiety ..and limited ability to find the right words and answers (all of which was to be taken into account in their report)…..I had passed….I would be fully included in these findings too. They would send out a copy of their full report ..not only to the referring agencies (my GP and the Memory Clinic) ..but ALSO ..to ME, their client.

I was after all (as I felt I was), an adequately CAPABLE driver and  …more importantly..  a SAFE driver ..a SAFE.. road user.

 Did you enjoy the assessment?

Now, as I look back ..the assessment was fascinating ..and hugely enjoyable too. Operating from a platform of best proven and standardised practices. All of which are available to read up on, in advance, via the internet ..should you wish to…I had not wanted to do that for some reason.

(Did I expect to be judged and discarded regardless? ..maybe I did ..I do not know).Perhaps …if someone else had insisted ..and had read the information out to me …I might NOT have arrived in such a state of anxiety.

I will never know. All I do know now …Is that my assessment team of two ..proved to be totally professional, and yet also TOTALLY ..non-judgmental. They demonstrated respect and integrity. They were there to discover my actual abilities in relation to my being able to drive safely. And then… (if needed), to advise. And help… whatever the outcome.

In conclusion:  

We ..pretty well, all of us.. (sooner or later), will have to make the decision  ..to drive, or,  NOT to drive …to give up driving. Very very few of us surely can keep going on driving  (safely that is), right up till the end. So ..if in any doubt at all …surely, this is a decision that is best addressed sooner, rather than later and in a routine ordinary kind of way. Not left to be dealt with as an emergency …as was my experience.

DriveAbility…for very little cost, will give you this unconditional advice, in report form. All you need to do is just email, or phone up and book an assessment…and reassurance will be yours…

If like me ..you live out in the sticks, love your home and your set up …and don’t want the disruption of a move… There will be plenty of services out there, wherever you are ..and each with pleasurable spin offs ..like… finding a community of people who CAN, and DO ..happily live without cars.

I myself am so grateful to East Anglian DriveAbility. I have confidence now. And when finally, I feel myself… that my safe driving ability could be in question  ..I will not hesitate to proactively book myself in again…for a second assessment.

This time …to have a report all of my own ..to own and to act on, in the gentleness of my own time.

Go well…and good wishes to us all ..for all that lies ahead.

Jane

Thank you for sharing your story and experience Jane, We’re so glad you enjoyed your assessment, and we wish you all the best!