Feature: Toyota Canada Motor Skills Clinic

Toronto, Ontario - For many people, driving represents freedom of mobility. But for patients at Toronto’s Providence Healthcare, a rehabilitation hospital for those with lower limb amputations, strokes, orthopedic surgery or geriatric-related mobility issues, a Toyota Camry that’s drained of fuel and never turns a wheel is a critical step in teaching patients how to get around.

The Camry sits in the centre of the Toyota Canada Motor Skills Clinic. The large room contains a variety of surfaces which are, except for some artificial grass, all real and full-size: sidewalks with curbs and wheelchair cut-outs, interlocking bricks, cobbled concrete, two sizes of gravel, asphalt with road markings, and a programmable traffic light. The room can also be dimmed and lit to simulate night-time streets. Opened in 2006 through a $300,000 donation from Toyota Canada, the clinic is believed to be the only one of its type in the country, and is popular with physiotherapists and patients alike, who use it as one of the many tools in the rehabilitation process

CanadianDriver Feature Articles Feature: Toyota Canada Motor Skills Clinic