Neurodiverse and learning to Drive

[dottypotter]

Can I have your opinions/experience please?
Is it harder/impossible for ND people to learn to drive?

But definitely if capable of learning in a manual that is better. So try that first. And if it's not working move to automatic.

As a lone parent it's been so useful being able to hire vans to take stuff to the tip or get hire cars in places where automatic cars are not the norm and would cost a fortune. A manual licence is very useful and it's not that much harder to learn for most ND or NT people: in a short time it becomes automatic to do gear changes the same way you don't think about how you put one foot in front of the other and balance while you walk once you've mastered it. But it really does depend how the neurodiversity in question impacts the specific person so in a minority of cases only an automatic would be manageable: just try and then see.

Also would never have survived in the time before Sat Nav and would still be lost in an industrial estate somewhere from my first job. 🤣 How did even NT people manage with just maps and one driver in the car? I don't understand that at all. Thankfully not an issue these days.

In my area there is an instructor who specialises in neurodiverse people. Automatic cars only.

One thing that would make life so much better is if people would use indicators. Or follow lane rules. I'm not sure the theory test is doing its job given there are so many drivers on the road that don't do that, or understand right of way etc. So that can be very frustrating and baffling, when they apparently have licences, and the rules aren't exactly complicated! 🤣 I'm convinced that 70% of the people on the road shouldn't have a driving licence. I think that's much more of a challenge - dealing with other people behaving in a bizarre manner - once you get over the basics of manouveringy a car. Although as said, that part will be harder for other people. We are all different.

I am ND. I had well over 100hrs of lessons but covid meant my learning was v stop start and I think that really made a big difference as I'd keep needing to relearn over again and rebuild my confidence etc. I have very high levels of anxiety about driving. I wanted to learn automatic but couldn't find an instructor so initial learned manual and still always struggled with gears. Eventually we bought an automatic car and I switched to that, it went much better. I failed 3 tests, my last one was the best of the 3 and was going well, I didn't really understand why I failed and it did feel unfair. After another break because there were 3 month waits for tests my anxiety got too bad and I cancelled my 4th test for a break. My theory was about to expire after it anyway. One of the problems for me was not being able to practice outside of lessons. I think if I could have gone out every single day for short stretches this would have made the difference for me but I couldn't. As initially we didn't have a car and then once we did, we had two kids, so no time as there was nobody who would sit in our house so DH could come driving with me, and on the weekends I felt sooo anxious to drive with the kids with us. Spent ££££££ on lessons that could have gone in to the house with nothing to show for it. Feel so sad about it all and like a total failure.

Autistic. Needed lots and lots of lessons. Driving instructor kept on delaying my test. I did past first time but was never happy driving. Don't drive at all now. Too scared.

Bit nervous here because a poster from a while ago piled in saying there is no excuse for not learning to drive unless you are not intelligent enough. It all went a bit crazy.

I can't drive. I tried but I was so bad I was dangerous. Now I have a chauffeur (my husband) or public transport and I don't feel the need to try. I am doing my bit to keep public transport going!

Oh and I am dyspraxic.

Thanks, that made me feel so much better for my DS obviously more disabling disability in this area.

I think it makes anxiety worse.
I’m autistic and have ADHD. I’m a perfectionist and find driving very stressful. But I’ve been driving since 17 (now 24) and haven’t even bumped a wing mirror or anything. Whereas I know lots of others that have been in crashes. Motorway driving is my favourite driving. I can easily do 4/5 hours on the motorway. Town driving takes a LOT of concentration for me. Probably 25 mins town driving is there same as 2 hours of motorway.

I might try an automatic for my next car

Oh and I’m not sure if it’s related but I don’t like parking on the road going forwards. Like just pulling up to the kerb I find parallel or reverse parking MUCH easier to get nice and close without scratching my alloys

I am going to disagree with the jump straight to an automatic advice. I think ND people should at least try a manual first and only switch to automatic if gears turn out to be a particular problem for them, as it can be limiting if you're restricted to automatic cars.

I am dyslexic and dyspraxic, and gears were not the issue that I needed to sort out, it was my road position (I was always slightly too close to the left or right, until after many, many, hours it suddenly clicked and I was getting the road position correct without thinking about it).

An automatic wouldn't have made any difference to me. I stuck at it because everything online about dyspraxia and driving said that it shouldn't preclude driving but it will likely take you far longer to master it.

I'm Autistic and couldn't ever think of even trying to learn to drive. I have sensory overload and am overwhelmed even as a passenger. But my autistic DD learnt to drive easily and is great at it. It just depends on how each person's ND affects them

ScruffyGiraffes, I’m autistic and go back to the days long before satnavs. I just looked up the route the day before in my road atlas and noted down the main points in large writing on a piece of paper, which sat beside me in the car.
Road signs are mostly clear and helpful in the UK, so I rarely got lost. Occasionally I would stop in a layby and just check the atlas again before a particularly complicated set of junctions.
I still find a satnav a bit of a distracting nuisance, especially when I know a better shortcut and satnav woman keeps whining at me to do a u turn!