Difficulty learning to drive

[NCTDN]

Help! Why is dd finding it so tricky? Very capable child and very academic but just can't grasp driving skills...

Driving skills aren’t really anything to do with academic ability. Has she tried leaning on an automatic? That sometimes helps.

More importantly, does she really need to learn to drive now? If she’s planning on moving to a big city as a young adult she may not actually need to drive for another decade at least.

I’m very academic (postgraduate qualifications) but I struggled to learn to drive. Because I’m good at rote learning and facts but I’m not good at intuition and reacting quickly. So I had to learn everything in a logical way and practise it over and over until it became ingrained. Whereas other people don’t need to learn that stuff because they have intuition.

Lessons were never enough time for me. I needed hundreds of hours in a private car with my Dad, just driving and memorising the situations I encountered.

are you/someone helping her practise every day? IME that’s a key part of it

This sounds spot on. I've said it's a case of practise practise practise.

Has she tried an automatic?

I'm quite good academically and what not but couldn't grasp gears, too much to think about and I suffer with anxiety - passed in an automatic within three months.

Yes we live quite remotely so will make a big difference. I do wonder if the pressure of feeling she needs to pass is adding to the stress.

How long has she been driving? Some take longer than others. Some take an uphill road then one day it clicks. And in other cases its a case of teaching style not matching learning style.
I have also found youtube videos can help. However it's important to explore several (not just the ones with most views ) to find which style and even voice matches your brain uptake. I struggled processing what one of the best youtuber driving instructors said. He really is wonderful but my brain couldn't process. Then another one who was fairly boring, less than 1000 views clicked for me. Oh and if she is anxious some meditation and visualisation before driving can help. Good luck to her

She loses concentration very easily

2 hour lesson rather than one helped me. As I really struggled to figure it out. And twice a week, leaving too much time inbetween meant I struggled in embed to knowledge.

if she still struggles try automatic.

Auto is the way forward if she’s struggling

I failed my driving test many times and finally passed in my 30s on an automatic-only license. I passed first time in an automatic - it made such a difference and so many cars are automatic now, there really is no need to do a manual test if she's finding it hard.

Longer lessons helped me, that and a great instructor. It's worth considering that some driving schools deliberately drag their heels with teaching in order to get you to pay for more lessons.

What is she struggling with? Specific things or just everything?

I passed my theory first time but it took 7 driving tests to pass. My biggest thing was my anxiety. I found the pressure to pass overwhelming. I could “drive” fine in my lessons but the minute I was in a test environment, my palms went sweaty and I couldn’t remember basic stuff. I got there in the end, and (touch wood) after 20+ years, I’ve never had an accident or got a speeding ticket. Practice makes perfect as they say :)

I’m dyspraxic and can’t drive a manual transmission car. I did my test on an automatic and I am an exemplary driver.

Also, I did brilliantly in driving lessons with a professional instructor. I was an absolute nervous wreck when my parents tried to teach me.

In that case it is just as well she is taking a long time to learn, because someone who easily loses concentration behind the wheel would not be safe on the road.

She may also be finding it tricky because she usually finds academic things easy and expected to be told how to do it, and that's that. She's now finding that mastering a physical skill isn't like that. It needs a lot of practice, and the development of muscle memory.

This was me. It was the first time I had ever found something hard and it was a real knock to my confidence. I think my brain had to learn how to process multiple things at once. Two lessons a week rather than one seemed to really help consolidate things. My spacial awareness is still awful and if I’d have to do a parallel park in my test I’d still be on a provisional licence 😂

How many lessons has she had? I found a change of instructor really helped me. The first was recommended by a number of people who all passed with him so he wasn’t a bad instructor, but I found a different one was so much better for me. He taught in a very repetitive way which was probably a bit dull but just drummed the routines of driving into me.

Any neurodiversity?

I have ADHD and struggled massively.

Academic ability is something completely separate.

All mine learnt and passed in a manual the middle one drives an automatic her choice i was always better with an automatic but could never afford lessons even now. Some people take longer than others