I am looking for some advice please.
My husband had a stroke back in October 23 which left him with righ side paralysis and Aphasia. I surrendered his driving licence on medical grounds but with the view to getting it back one day. To be honest, this was probably a mistake but at the time it was confusing about what you were required to do for the best in the long run!
Anyhow, roll forward and he can now get himself in the car , seatbelt on, stick riding shotgun. He will need an adapted car for his leg and arm but thats ok, not a problem!
The aphasia aspect is my concern. Lee has come on really well considering speech therapy was delay for several months after his stroke due to the lack of therapist in our local nhs.
He cognitive responses seem to be back, he fully understands whats said to him and he can read, not a book, but certainly can extract information from small passages of text. He can gesture routes when we are out in the car and has completely regain his natural compass of where he is.
My concern is i am completing the Dvla form G1 about your medical condition. The right side weakness is straight forward but when I put down the Aphasia it doesn’t really let you get across that mentally he seems really good its just the verbal communication is extremely limited at the moment but is improving all the time.
As we are aware, a broken leg is a broken leg but stroke problems are most definitely not black or white!
Has anyone else gone through getting their licence back with Aphasia??
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I’m guessing you would be asked to take a Driving Assessment which would be conducted by professionals with the medical, and legal know how to both conduct tests and advise.
They can say you are not fit to drive but will attempt to facilitate your getting back in the driving seat, with any necessary modifications if at all possible.
They supplied a modified vehicle for my test, which by the way was completely free.
It was an Occupational Therapist who told me in her opinion I was fit to drive and should go for assessment.
Perhaps you should consult with an OT and ask for advice for a start.
I hope you arrive at a happy and safe conclusion.
My best wishes to you.
I have not suffered from aphasia but have right side weakness and after assessment had to get a modified automatic vehicle and can now drive it and can get out and about.
As I understand it his cognitive ability would be assessed at a driving assessment. If it was me I would ask his GP to see if they can do a referral to an OT who can give an opinion / write a report for the DVLA. This post the other day mentions about providing evidence to the DVLA for them to consider.
Best of luck.
Ann
Hello @Stringyj.
I can’t comment directly about aphasia as I only have mild word finding difficultly but the cognitive tests were very thorough at the drivability/motability assessment. It may be worth contacting your local centre to check if you can book for an assessment without a current licence.
I had not surrendered my licence as no one told me to and I was not trying to drive.
They may also be able to provide better guidance on the form you are filling in and the order to approach things in.
Hope that helps,
Julia
Even though I still have mild aphasia, i didnt have an issue with getting my licence back. In fact I don’t even remember mentioning it at the time when it was much worse.
Don’t forget you don’t need speech to drive. If anything, the DVLA could see that as a good thing as a driver is less likely to be distracted by conversation whilst driving. Aphasia may be new to you but not to them. They are dealing with applications from people with these conditions every day. And I know of several people in my Aphasia group who drive adapted cars, clearly they were approved by the DVLA despite their aphasia. In fact there is one young guy who has started taking driving lessons for the first time 
I don’t profess to know the in’s and out’s of how you go about it, but I don’t believe it’s an issue to worry about.
Good luck 
Lorraine