Driving is a rite of passage for many people. It’s something kids can’t wait to accomplish once they turn 16. I was the same. But I knew my journey toward learning to drive would be different than most.
Because of having a disability, I needed to attend a specialized driving school—one with trained professionals who could provide the right tools and equipment. In 2014, I found that in The Viscardi Center’s adaptive driving program.
My car is outfitted with a left-foot gas pedal and a spinner knob for my steering wheel. Without that adaptive equipment and the training I received through Viscardi’s program, I don’t believe I would be the independent person I am today.
The Viscardi Center’s adaptive driving program began in 1978 and ran for 41 years. The program ceased operations in 2019. From December 2013 to November 2019, about 5,000 lessons were given to 909 individuals with varying disabilities, according to The Viscardi Center.
The Viscardi Center itself is a network of nonprofits that educate, employ, and empower children and adults with disabilities. It was founded in 1962 by Dr. Henry Viscardi Jr.—an advisor to eight presidents and a pioneering advocate for people with disabilities. Born with underdeveloped legs, Dr. Viscardi wore prosthetics.
Recognizing the Need
The Viscardi Center’s current president and chief executive officer, Dr. Chris Rosa, understands the importance of reviving the adaptive driving program.
Dr. Rosa became CEO in January 2022 after serving as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion Initiatives at the City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Rosa has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, and he has been a wheelchair user since age 12. He does not drive, though some people with the condition do.
“To be honest, because I don’t drive myself, I lost track of the status of the program,” he said. “After spending time in the role of CEO, I realized why the organization had to make this gut-wrenching decision to discontinue it.”
According to Dr. Rosa, the program cost hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and was operating at a deficit as reimbursements from ACCES-VR for each driver failed to cover costs. “As a nonprofit, when any program is operating in that kind of deficit, it cuts into other core aspects of our mission—primarily employment services for individuals with disabilities,” he said.
Still, Dr. Rosa hopes to bring the program back. “As an organization and as a board, we are working hard to shore up existing priorities that are still afloat and growing,” he explained. “We plan to bring together a blue-ribbon panel of key stakeholders—people who know the industry, who know the space—to take a critical look at how the Center was placed in that situation and determine what it would take to revive this cherished program.”
Although he cannot drive himself, Dr. Rosa’s family understands the program’s impact firsthand. His brother Gian, who also has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, is a graduate of Viscardi’s adaptive driving program. “That was my first connection to Viscardi,” Dr. Rosa said. “Thirty years before I became president and CEO, my brother completed the program—and it changed our family’s life.”
Driving, he added, has “enriched our social lives, our ability to stay connected with family, and our access to medical care of our choice. You aren’t bound geographically in the same way when you’re locked into paratransit.”
In their free time, the Rosa brothers travel to Bruce Springsteen concerts around the country. “We’ve been to 139 shows in 21 cities,” he said. “So much of our joy has come from those road trips. Driving has given us the opportunity to share that.”
Seeking the Same Opportunity
There are many people with disabilities who wish to embark on the same journey I did 11 years ago. Richard Bedard is a 30-year old doctoral student in clinical psychology at Hofstra University and a 2013 graduate of the Henry Viscardi School. Bedard, who has cerebral palsy on the right side of his body, is a triplet and has often felt different from his brothers. As a wheelchair user, he does not have the same level of independence they enjoy. When his parents were unavailable to drive him, he often relied on his brothers.
“[My brothers] have their own lives,” he said. “Having to rely on family members—even though I’m grateful I had them—shaped the way I interact with the world.”
When it came time to learn to drive, Bedard’s brothers found programs that suited their needs, while he could not. Although he attended Henry Viscardi School, he did not realize the adaptive driving program existed.
Bedard believes driving can provide freedom and a whole lot more.
“What’s being left out of the conversation is the practical use—that ability to create a life of your own, connect with a peer group of your own,” he said. “Connect with people on your own terms—instead of having to rely on a public service, which is sometimes reliable, sometimes less reliable at times.”
He believes restoring the program would provide immense value to others.
“The Viscardi Center does such a good job of teaching and mentoring what it means to be a successful person with a disability,” Bedard said. “Adding the opportunity to navigate the world—to drive—and share that with other people would only benefit Viscardi and the people in it.”