I would give 0 stars if I could. Strive for Independence is a terrible option for adapted driving. I had lots of issues with scheduling and the instructor Brandon. Lessons weren't scheduled in a timely fashion. Brandon didn't work with me to come up with a vehicle set up that I could safely drive with and was not open to trying different set ups. Brandon is also not very knowledgeable and made the recommendation that I don't continue driving. Fortunately, I was able to change companies and I got my driver's license after working with a more experienced instructor and using a completely different vehicle set up.
After my evaluation, it was 3 months before my first lessons. After my first 10 hours driving, it was another 6 weeks before I had another lesson. Brandon had to cancel my last lesson and didn't make an effort to reschedule until I reached out 3 weeks later. At this point, I looked at other options.
Brandon did not work well with me. He was calm during lessons, but that's the only good thing about him. Their were several issues with the vehicle that he didn't address that hurt my ability to drive. First, in their vehicle, I had to raise the seat of my powerchair to see over the steering wheel. This made me less stable when turning, so it made it harder to control the vehicle. Second, Brandon made a significant change to how my hand controls were set up. Instead of giving me time to adapt and learn it, he kept kept telling me "You need to be better and make more progress." Brandon became frustrated when I wasn't driving as well in my second lesson and didn't acknowledge the major change he implemented. Additionally, he never made a serious effort to place a vehicle control screen in a spot I could reach. I would not be able to independently drive without reaching those controls, so it's frustrating that he never tried to determine where it should go. All of these factors make me believe Brandon and Strive for Independence are not as committed to helping people drive as they want you to believe.
After this, I changed companies and began working with the Master's Driving School in Wisconsin. The instructor was much better and had a better vehicle set up. At Master's, I had a single joystick that controlled gas, brake, and steering. This was much easier to control. Additionally, I didn't have to raise the seat of my chair to see over the steering wheel. This made me significantly more stable when turning. Master's also scheduled much faster than Strive for Independence did. I was able to get my driver's license working with them in less than 2 months after my first behind the wheel session. read more