An 18-year-old UBC student living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is the first person in Canada to drive using a state-of-the-art electronic Swiss driving system that allows people with minimal hand function to control a vehicle with a single joystick. Lail uses a wheelchair because the disorder causes his muscles to become weaker as he ages. While there are other adaptive driving technologies out there, Lail's instructor, Dean Robertson, says the Joysteer system has fewer limitations. Shaan Lail uses the Joysteer driving system, which allows him to control a vehicle with one or two joysticks. ​Because driving isn't considered medically necessary, the Lail family is paying out of pocket to buy Shaan a vehicle with the Joysteer system — at a cost of over $70,000.

Source: CBC News October 04, 2016 01:52 UTC