Excellent Driving instructor in Dorset

[asdad]

I posted this:- asdad Fri 08-Mar-13 00:47:38
Hello People..

My kid has reached 18 and has applied for and got his provisional driving license.

He has decided he wants a tractor.

Ive told him he needs to pass a car test before he can have one as he has problems with observation on roads, and I would rather he didnt drive over anyone.

He has some money put by for lessons, but I have no idea where to find a teacher with the patience and understanding to see him through this.

Has anyone else been here who can give me some pointers?

Many thanks.

I got a reply:- Message poster lougle Fri 08-Mar-13 22:32:02
This might be helpful?

I dont like to count chickens before they hatch, so its been a while.

However....

Even though he hasnt passed, I think its time to give you some feedback.

Lougle Thank you so much for your reply and the link.

Please accept my apologies for failing to thank you at the time.

I followed the link and read the blurb.

I dont really trust blurb as I know how easy it is to post a load of complete tripe on the net.

However, I thought the bloke sounded sort of sincere.

I sent him an email.

It was written in my usual hapazard fashion.

My kid wants to learn how to drive.

Hes got his provisional, but Im not sure hes going to be able to learn this stuff and Im incapable of teaching it to him.

Not enough patience.

I got a reply in a couple of days. He wanted clarification of a few bits.

I replied in my usual blunt fashion.

I got a reply thanking me for supplying the details I had and offering a looksee - which is what I asked for.

Look see. One lesson. A chance for us to look at him and see how my kid felt and if we thought it was possible for my kid to learn from him, and, jst as importantly, a chance for him to have a good look at my kid to see if he thought he could teach him.

I told him that my kid would ring him to arrange the lesson as I think its important that my kid learns to do these things and feel in control of what he is doing - rather than feel Im inflicting stuff on him.

My kid rang, asked for a lesson and as soon as the mand said yes, he thanked him and rang off.

Luckily, Im pretty good at guessing...So I guessed where to drop my kid for the lesson and how much money he needed in his pocket.

We met the instructor at a gardening centre that he picked.

I got tea and cakes and read my book while they drove for an hour and a half.

When they were due back, I got some more tea and cakes and the instructor sat with us and discussed how good my kid is. This was after the lesson had officially ended.

My kid loved it and took to it like a duck to water.

I havent the faintest idea how as he cant even master looking both ways before crossing the road, but the instructor has managed to teach him how to drive!

Hes managed to do it despite my kid not admitting when he doesnt understand or even asking any questions!

I would love to say that this was the end of the story and my kid sailed off happily into the road network.

Its never that easy with Aspies.

Especially when there is also a theory test.

Ive had a look at the questions on the mock theory tests.

There is absolutely no way I would be able to pass it.

Half the questions are - to my mind irrelevent and quite often plain wrong!

There is not a hope in hell that I could teach my kid how to pass this test.

I would end up beating him half to death out of pure frustration.

So I told the instructor that as he was the instructor, he should teach him.

He did a bit of blinking, then grinned.

Ok.

I want sure how this would work and nor was he.

He wanted to know where and when, so I suggested the garden centre for the lessons.

The garden centre flogs "tea for two", which is a two plate stack with four quarter cut sandwiches on the top tier and half a dozen cakes on the bottom with a pot of tea for two for 10.

I get two. One for the instructor and my kid, and one just for me!

My kid spends the week doint the poxy theory test two or three times a day on his laptop.

Then on lesson day, the instructor goes throught he ones he gets wrong in the garden centre.

I make sure I sit on another table far enough away that I dont start grumbling about the stupid questions.

I made a point of telling my kid right from the start that he would fail his first couple of tests as they are trial runs.

I know that might sound stupid, but that way he wont have to give up if he fails first time and having read the mock questions....

Anyhow....

The instructor wanted to see what would happen if my kid took the theory test.

The day arrived.

Rather than try to find somewhere to park near the test centre, which is in the middle of Bournemouth, the instructor drove to our house and I dropped them near the test centre.

I headed out to a pub for some lemonade. I usually drink coke in pubs, but they had run out, which irritated me.

My kid rang.

I picked them up.

The instructor was sort of grey.

My kid had failed as I had expected. My kid wasnt fazed by it as he knew he wasnt going to pass this trial run.

Not sure if the instructor was grey because he expected me to explode, or what.

I didnt.

My kid scored 35 out of 50. I dont know what he pass rate is, but I think its 45.

I was happy with that.

So was my kid.

Today was another lesson.

We drove over and I got the cakes and tea.

I slipped up and sat too close.

My kid was struggling trying to work out why he needed to know that if an accident victim had no pulse, he should know if he should compress at 50, or 100 or 200 per minute.

I just about managed not to screach.

My kid is now hitting 40 ish out of the 50.

The instructor decided to talk about another practice theory test in the near future.

I dont think he is expecting him to fail.

From what Ive seen, I think the instructor is probably right.

This instructor hasnt shouted at my kid.

Not even once.

Hes managed the impossible by my reconing, just by getting him to be aware of other road users. Somehow hes even managed to get him to anticipate whats going to happen next.

My kids not exactly good at that as hes not that sort of Aspie.

The patience hes shown week after week helping my kid through this multi guess thing is astonishing.

THeres been a few other things that I think are important. A couple of times I have arrived 5 minutes late, and once, 15 minutes late. I sort of expected my kid to lose the minutes. However, he just started the lesson from when we arrived. To my mind, thats pretty rare.

This instructor is actually an honest gentleman as well as being a very talented teacher.

Thank you Lougle for that link, and to anyone else....

I recomend this instructor.

Thank you Mumsnet for being here to make this happen.

Oh...

Lougles link....

www.drivingincludesu.co.uk/public/articles_drivers_seat.php