Dyspraxia and learning to drive?

[Findingahappyplace]

Does anyone here have dyspraxia and had learnt to drive?
I was diagnosed with dyspraxia at 14 but never had any support for it.
I’m learning to drive now and I’m really struggling with spotting ‘gaps’ at roundabouts and when turning right out of a junction when it’s really busy!
I feel like a struggle to judge the speed of other cars and knowing whether I have the time to pull out.
I don’t know if this is linked to my dyspraxia or if this is a normal issue for some people when learning to drive.
I’m losing a bit of confidence and wondering if maybe my problems around driving are normal and will get better with time, or linked to dyspraxia.
If my issues are linked to my dyspraxia is there any hope for me to learn to drive? 🙈

Oh my goodness I have adhd and am like this. I've not driven for years but remember I would sometimes wait for ages when I could have gone. I'm waiting to get my driving license and this is making me nervous thinking about it.

As you get more experience you will judge it better. Could you get your instructor to do a few more pullouts with you?

Don't beat yourself up over a bad lesson. I also have a theory (unresearched) that I am more confident in the first half/middle of my monthly cycle, whereas in the second half I get overly slow (probably good for parallel parking!).

I have severe dyspraxia and managed it! You can do it! Roundabouts were the hardest thing for me too, I bloody hated them but it's one of those things that really improve the more you do it.

I have exactly the same difficulties as you. It took me 8 years and several different instructors to learn to drive. I finally found one who was patient and determined enough to get me through. I passed twelve years ago, but I still struggle with roundabouts, especially lanes on them. I also do not remember routes at all. I am a very anxious and unconfident driver. However, driving has enabled me to to take my children to more places and means that they can do things like clubs and extra curricular classes more easily, so it is worth it.

I would say keep going, don't give up. You can do it.

I am dyspraxic and learnt to drive. it did take me a while and even now if its a new car it takes me a while to learn to judge the size and distance perceptions within a new car.

I learnt automatic only as i found the coordination with manual was too hard (I'd go to change gears with my left hand and my right would follow pulling the steering wheel across to the left). plus only managing one foot made life a lot easier. It has some draw backs esp as auto cars are more expensive but tbh in ten years cars will be electric and therefore auto anyway.

My DD has dyspraxia and passed first time. She learned in an automatic which definitely helped. Judging gaps was definitely an issue - I think she just needed more practice than many people. She had around 70-80hrs of driving before she took her test.

My son has severe dyspraxia and learned but did have a lot of lessons. There are driving instructors who are specially trained to work with disabled clients. I'd poss go for an automatic as well. I think it is endless practice needed. Go when really quiet so you get used to the roundabout and do that several times then build up to traffic.

My DS has severe dyspraxia
He started lessons at 20 took him 18 months and he passed 4th time
He’s 27 now and apart from going through 2 clutches 😂 he drives fine

42 lessons here, but I did it. Once you have passed, keep going out all the time. Once you have muscle memory so much easier. I would say I’m a good driver now - save for parking, but I just try and park away from other cars.

Be prepared you might kerb your hubcaps etc more then most.

I managed (dyspraxic and ADD) but I found it didn't click for me when I was 17. I left it for a couple of years and tried again with a different instructor and it was so much better. My new instructor was kind and patient and after less then 20 lessons with him I passed. The first instructor (female) made me uncomfortable and that was never going to work well for me. I drive a manual as I prefer them, I tend to find in automatics because I hadn't got to think about gears etc that I would be more distracted by other things going on and potentially easier to speed etc.

Pretty sure I have dyspraxia and it took me ages to learn to drive. Things that helped me were: learning in an automatic that did everything (wipers, lights, parking!) automatically. Also an incredible and patient instructor who went over many roundabout scenarios with me using her sons toy cars on a paper roundabout . And lots of practice.

Don’t give up! I love driving now and my current car has automatic transmission but I manage everything else.

Not dyspraxia but those issues you mention are pretty common with all learner drivers. Roundabouts and judging speed do come eventually.

My daughter drives. She needs SatNav as she can't think of directions in her head and can't picture maps like most of us. She learned using gearstick and window in place of left and right.
She has no problems with gaps, as far as I know. She's not hesitant and not had any crashes. I think its a learning to drive thing that we all went through.

DS has dyspraxia and ASD and drives, he's been driving for 10+ years with one accident in that time. It took him much longer to learn than it did his sister but he did it. He is very reliant on his satnav though even on familiar routes.

Thank you everyone for all the comments. 🙂
It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one!
It is hard to know how much is normal and how much (if anything) is a result of dyspraxia.
I changed instructors recently and my new instructor is a lot nicer but gives a lot less direction than my old instructor - she will leave me to sit at the roundabout for such a long time and I just can’t work out when to go, it all feels too overwhelming and there’s too much information to take in at once. By the time I’ve acknowledged someone’s signal and spotted a potential gap, the moment has gone and I’ve missed my chance. Or sometimes I just can not work out whether I can go or not - I just see a mass of cars.
I haven’t told her yet about my dyspraxia and wondering whether I should or not as I’m not sure it’s relevant.

I am driving an automatic though so that’s a big help and removes a lot of the issues I had with a manual before. But it is mainly now spatial awareness and roundabouts / spotting gaps I’m having trouble with,
I’m hoping it will just come with time and practise.
I have to be honest I was feeling pretty stupid recently wondering why I’m struggling so much - and I don’t know how much is down to dyspraxia or not. 🤷🏻‍♀️
It’s good to know others have managed to learn to drive and passed their test though, this gives me some hope!

Personally I'd say tell her, and tell her the areas you think you are struggling with. DD needed to be specifically taught some things that others find obvious.

It will come with time and practice- just make sure you drive regularly so your eye stays 'in'! Try not to worry about it, see it as the bit you have to get extra practice for. Once it's there you'll be as confident as anyone else.

DS1 has dyspraxia and drives. I was worried at first, but he's better on the motorway than me, and doesn't get as tired and stressed as I do.

Just give yourself time.