Is it possible for an autistic person to learn how to drive?

Question

I've been struggling to learn how to drive for over four years. I had two instructors that gave up on teaching me. I didn't want them to teach me anyway because they were so impatient and mean (they lost their temper many times) towards me.

I was born with moderate autism. Now I'm high function. So I'm pretty much learning challenged at everything. I want to know if there's any way for me to learn how to drive. Is there any service for people with special needs? By the way, I live in California.

Even though I've talked to my parents about my learning problems, they still don't understand. They never heard of autism, so they don't know what it is. They only believe that mentally retarded people have learning difficulties that learning difficulties don't exist among normal people. Remember that my parents are Asian and uneducated, so they will never understand. And they still don't accept people like me with learning problems that they expect their kids to be perfect.

Answer 1

Yes, you can learn to drive!  Contact your local Autism Society for help.  Look online for something in your area.

Answer 2

yes its possible

Answer 3

Of course you can learn to drive if you have high functioning autism. I think the most important thing you need is an instructor who understands you and who has a lot of patience. Are there any instructors where you live who specialise in teaching people to drive who don't find it easy? It will probably take you a little longer to learn than other people but with the right instructor there is no reason why you should not. Good luck.

Answer 4

You don't say what problems you are having with driving, so it is hard to answer your question. Can you be more specific about the difficulties you are having?

People with ASD are highly visual to the point that they can be very distracted by things happening in the environment, thus making driving difficult. You may see things that an ordinary person does not even notice. However, this may make it difficult to screen out unnecessary information and concentrate on staying on the road, avoiding danger or following signs. You may need to train yourself to screen out distractions, though this may be difficult.

Another issue is too much focus on a single aspect of driving and having difficulty shifting focus numerous times.

It is great that you have made it through on your own. If you are under 22 years old and have had an IEP, it is possible that the school district can still help out using their driver training program. If you are still in school, call for an IEP meeting to make driving one of your Goals on your IEP.

Finally, try going to the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) website to see if they can give you information on driving.

Please give us an update on the difficulties you are having so we can make some suggestions.

Answer 5

I know several adults with autism who drive, Temple Grandin has some great stories about driving and parking.

The deal is that it does take longer, much longer. People with autism often have trouble integrating input and then making choices (planning) about what should come next. That will improve with older age and with lots of practice.

You do need a good teacher, but I don't know how you could find someone.  I have two kids on the spectrum, and there are several things about me that I can accept better now that I see it in my children. I also had a very hard time driving, so stressed out that I threw up every time my dad made me practice. I didn't learn how to drive until I was 20, my husband taught me (he's much more patient than my dad LOL!) My hubby used to laugh at me, I'm the only person he's known who had to renew their permit. It's not a bad thing...once I got everything figured out, I loved driving. But before then it was buses and friends for me!