Perrysburg resident puts people behind the wheel

Perrysburg resident Mark Allison helps people, including those living with disabilities, get their drivers’ licenses.

The owner of Northwestern Ohio Driver Training School, Inc., bought the business a year ago after working there for about 23 years.

The company provides driver training for teenagers and adults.

“Among those we serve are people with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, physical disabilities and closed head injuries, to name a few,” Mr. Allison explained. “We use a variety of adaptive driving techniques that will enable them to enjoy the freedom driving provides.”

Freedom and independence were Cameron Cox’s goals when he signed up to take classes from Mr. Allison.

“I met Cameron through OOD, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities,” Mr. Allison said. “We’ve been working together for a couple of years.”

Recently, Mr. Cox, the son of Perrysburg High School alumnus Mary Thornton, drove to and from work for the first time.

“Sometimes, when parents with a special needs child get older, they want them to learn how to drive from the house, to work, to the store,” Mr. Allison explained. “They really want them to be able to be self-sufficient, anticipating that someday, the parents will not be around to help them.”

During the first meeting between Mr. Allison and a potential client, he evaluates them getting in and out of the vehicle by themselves and whether they will be able to learn the rules and pass the permit test.

If they pass that evaluation, they can take lessons, he said.

Currently, Mr. Allison has 20 students, nine of whom were referred to him by OOD.

He works with Harbor Behavioral, Lucas County and Wood County boards of developmental disabilities and with local trade schools, including Penta Career Center.

“They might have a student in construction or on an internship who needs to get a license.”

He works one-on-one with the students and, in the last 10 years, has had about a 95 percent success rate.

Many of his students have phobias, some due to having lost a family member in a car accident.

“I had one client who was scared to go over bridges,” he mentioned.

Mr. Allison charges per lesson and also sells packages of lessons.

The students use his vehicle during the driver’s test “because they’re comfortable with it.”

He can work with people who have special equipment in their cars, but his company does not have cars with that equipment.

He tailors the lessons to each student because “each is unique.” He might work with one special needs student once a month for years and another twice a month. “There’s no set program.”

Sometimes, the trainer encounters resistance from family members.

“One student’s parents told her she couldn’t learn to drive,” he said. “I told her she could, and she did.”

It is difficult when a parent is too involved, he noted.

“Drivers have to be able to make decisions for themselves. Sometimes their parent answers for them even though I’m looking right at the student.”

Mr. Allison likes what he does.

“It’s very rewarding to see my students succeed at basic driving skills. Driving can offer them a lot more freedom.”