Young Adults with Visual Impairments and Driver\u27s Education: Journeys of Self-Efficacy, Identity, and Transition to Adulthood

A person’s ability to travel independently can determine whether he or she transitions successfully from one life stage to another. One critically important aspect of independent travel is coming to understand how vehicles move in the built environment. For youth without visual disabilities, this information is addressed in depth in driver’s education courses. In the case of adolescents with visual impairments, the acquisition of this information is more complex and raises a number of complicated questions. In this qualitative study, seven adults with visual impairments ages 18-27 and six of their family members are interviewed to determine the impact of driver’s education on future independent travel for individuals with low vision/blindness. Social theories from other disciplines are used to analyze data (HeavyRunner & Marshall, 2003; Kim, 2015; Tuck, 2009). Findings indicate the emergence of three key themes: people with visual impairments are perceived as incapable by people without disabilities, driving serves as a metaphor for ableism, and schools may be actively pushing students with visual impairments out of their home schools to attend residential schools for students with visual impairments to preserve resources for able-bodied students