Can People with Asperger's syndrome learn how to drive a Car

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NutcrackerPrincess
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16 Oct 2012, 10:14 pm

I waited til I was 20 to start even considering driving...I didn't like the idea.
When I took the exams to get my instruction permit (because you can if you're over 18) I failed the thing 3-4 times and right now I've decided to take a break because although I do want to have my license because I will need it, I don't want to be a driver...I've never driven a car before and I feel that it will be overwhelming. People with Aspergers CAN drive a car but it depends on what difficulties each person with Aspergers has because each is at a different level with different symptoms and severety of symptoms. I just don't understand cars. I just don't. Love riding in them...but I don't think I could handle driving a 2 ton hunk of steel with wheels and share a road with gosh knows who...drunk drivers, teenagers, people just not following the rules, texters...etc. I don't think I'm ready for that type of risk and that might be ONE reason why someone with Aspergers might not want to..or may take longer to get their license...but I believe we can be competent on the road.



mikecartwright
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17 Oct 2012, 5:46 pm

Thank you to all for replying.



Jaden
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17 Oct 2012, 11:14 pm

Not for me.

Oh I've been through driving school and taken the written test multiple times and passed, but for me, it's a different matter.
You see, in addition to AS, I also have ADD. Which is a huge problem in my case because I can't control my mind 24/7 and it wanders uncontrollably, even when I was taking my driving course (years ago, now) it was like this, but at least then it was managable. And it's only gotten worse since then, so driving is definitely out of the question for me.

Can others learn? Probably.


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MarthaCannary
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18 Oct 2012, 12:50 pm

Driving is one of the very few things I excel at... One of my longest interests in vehicles and driving. I'm actually quite good at it. I can drive anything. Air brakes, split shift, cars, trucks, tri-axle dump truck. essentially anything with wheels.

It's the NT's that can not drive.... (<--humour? For serious?) The winter following this video my "NT" hubby wrecked this car...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU0JHRxKR8k[/youtube]
Yay! for manual transmissions!! ! I taught myself how to heel-toe shift a few years ago.

Here is some Northern Canadian driving in the winter... video is a few years old, I recorded it with a potato....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxW93XVEZyk[/youtube]

Just because I'm in a sharing mood, here is the car... I miss it terribly... All I have left is the seats, valve cover, glass and engine...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6HEqWiIHv0[/youtube]

R.I.P. Honali 1984-2007 We Will Miss You
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mikecartwright
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08 Mar 2013, 8:59 am

Who should People with Asperger's syndrome ask to learn how to drive ?

ASPERGER'S SYNDROME AND DRIVING

http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/aut/driveas.html



krazykat
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08 Mar 2013, 9:37 am

I have Asperger's and I drive an hour to get to school every day. I really don't like driving in cities because people honk at me and I hate paying for parking. I am perfectly fine everywhere else though. :)


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08 Mar 2013, 10:14 am

I know a few Aspies who drive. I don't; as I've failed the number plate test. I also wouldn't feel that comfortable driving. On a side note, does anyone with Hyperacusis drive? That's another thing that's stopping me from driving.



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08 Mar 2013, 10:50 am

I can't help noticing that some of the less confident drivers in this thread are posting from the UK, where the driving test keeps being being made longer and more challenging, on top of almost all learners having to learn in cars with manual gear boxes we have roundabouts instead of intersections with lights; I have always found it difficult to read the intentions of other drivers approaching roundabouts, especially if they do not signal and even then i have to really concentrate to work out where they intend to exit (left and right are tricky when facing me!). Needless to say it took me 6 attempts, spaced over many years to pass my test, the only exam I have ever failed, and is the achievement I am most proud of. Motorway slip roads still scare the pants of me though and I only drive on familiar roads at night, i had to do it though or my children would have been stuck at home, I certainly don't drive for pleasure.

I don't have a DX but one of my children does and I think I know who he inherited that from!



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08 Mar 2013, 10:52 am

To the OP: Of course Aspies can drive cars, I'm fairly confident that a few of the developers over the years were on the spectrum.

I can't seem to read that angelfire page that you linked above.


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08 Mar 2013, 11:19 am

Quote:
Can People with Asperger's syndrome learn how to drive a Car ? I have several friends with Asperger's syndrome who drive Cars and have learned how to drive

^
Asked and answered.


First time i drove a car (enclosed driving range) i felt right at home because of all the driving games i had played at the time. There was another student (statistically a Neurotyplical) near me and he were all freaked out by the complexity of it. I saw that he were uncomfortable, and we were both at a 90' angle at a T-section so i stopped and let him drive off.

First time i parked was on a packed parking lot outside a grocery store, my friend who were my supervisor told me to park and i did it flawlessly. Only problem were when i was told to go to another entrance and repeat it, i passed a police car and were so scared of crashing into it, but it went ok.

Today, i still don't have a drivers license because i lost interest in taking it, but for me it was like riding a bike or taking a walk.

Only (simulated in FSX) vehicle i don't like and have problems with is the large Boeing 747-400 type airplanes that has so much mass that they drift (yaw) after you level out, which cause your directions to go off and you have to compensate for it by thinking ahead. Space Shuttle is simpler to land.


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08 Mar 2013, 11:26 am

Here is one thing that you can use to learn how to drive - like a normal person.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsj-vEgHQQ[/youtube]


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08 Mar 2013, 11:35 am

Ichinin wrote:
Here is one thing that you can use to learn how to drive - like a normal person.


I want to state for the record that a virtual simulation will not prepare someone in any way (other than maybe visual stimulation), for driving in the real world. You have variables such as how each car handles, as well as people that could randomly either drive into you, or walk into the street. There's weather to consider and how your vehicle handles in that as well as about 100 other things that can happen in just a 5 minute drive down one street. Aside from visuals, a simulation is useless in teaching people how to drive a real car.


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08 Mar 2013, 11:35 am

mikecartwright wrote:
Can People with Asperger's syndrome learn how to drive a Car ? I have several friends with Asperger's syndrome who drive Cars and have learned how to drive is it possible for people with Asperger's syndrome to learn how to drive a Car ? Is the Test to learn how to drive a Car for a person with Asperger's syndrome different I was told it can be ?

ASPERGER'S SYNDROME AND DRIVING

http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/aut/driveas.html


Erm, you have totally contradicted yourself:

A) Can People with Asperger's syndrome learn how to drive a car?
B) I have several friends with Asperger's syndrome who drive cars and have learned how to drive

You have answered your own question.

I drive. However, it took me over 200 lessons to learn as I couldn't get how the instructors were explaining. As far as I know there does not exist training specifically for people with ASCs to learn how to drive. You can either do it or you can't. I am a nervous driver. I will only drive routes I know and I am hyper-aware of all the other traffic and potential dangers. This is exhausting and therefore I would be unlikely to cope with long journeys. This is me, perhaps other Aspies are different. No doubt there are nervous NT drivers as well.


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08 Mar 2013, 1:55 pm

wigglybeezer wrote:
I can't help noticing that some of the less confident drivers in this thread are posting from the UK, where the driving test keeps being being made longer and more challenging, on top of almost all learners having to learn in cars with manual gear boxes we have roundabouts instead of intersections with lights; I have always found it difficult to read the intentions of other drivers approaching roundabouts, especially if they do not signal and even then i have to really concentrate to work out where they intend to exit (left and right are tricky when facing me!). Needless to say it took me 6 attempts, spaced over many years to pass my test, the only exam I have ever failed, and is the achievement I am most proud of. Motorway slip roads still scare the pants of me though and I only drive on familiar roads at night, i had to do it though or my children would have been stuck at home, I certainly don't drive for pleasure.

I don't have a DX but one of my children does and I think I know who he inherited that from!
Very true. If it wasn't for the fact that it's more or less taken for granted that everyone here will learn using a manual gearbox, I probably would have gone for lessons by now. It's yet another thing that you need to think about when driving, as if looking out for pedestrians, road signs and traffic signals, etc, wasn't enough pressure. Of course, you can learn and take your test using an automatic, but when you pass, you can only drive a manual as a learner.

Welcome to WP, btw.


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08 Mar 2013, 2:10 pm

I'm in the UK too and count as one of them nervous drivers. I actually went through 3 different driving instructors (as well as the 200 lessons) before it clicked.

I am a pretty good driver as long as I stick to routes I know and nothing panics me LOL.

I had a horrid experience a few weeks back. I had to park on a very busy high street road in the dark (I have scotopic sensitivity which makes me hate night driving, the glare of lights etc.) and the only available space was on the wrong side of the road. First I had to negotiate getting across said road, then I had to reverse into a space (which it transpired was a tiny bit too small!) on my 'wrong' side (which is a lot harder) in the face of oncoming buses, lorries and various traffic. Needless to say I was petrified. I managed to scrape against the car I was trying to park behind, went forward in horror to edge away from it a bit, scraped it again and got the cars stuck together, as I'd cracked his bumper and it stuck on my front light! A man sat in his car facing me 2 cars down impassively, witnessing the whole shebang. It was like humiliating yourself by audience. I managed to extricate it with a bit of 'welly', and then struggled like hell to get into the space, which would have fitted great if all you had to do was lift the car up and put it down in the space...just not enough room to manoevre, and ended up somehow in the space but way too far away from the kerb. I was in too tightly to get it out by this point. I tried, and in doing so ended up clunking into the van behind. A man yelled out of his window "what are you doing love!". Could it get any worse. The whole experience was so utterly humiliating, I already hate night driving and this reminded me why.


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krazykat
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08 Mar 2013, 3:13 pm

My first driving instructor yelled at me when I mixed up left and right and gave me a meltdown on my first day. My parents immediately fired him and set me up with another driving instructor named Hawaiian Bob who was very laid back and would calmly tell me how to correct my mistakes. For example, if I made a right turn instead of a left, he would just have me do two more rights.
I had no further problems after that! 8)


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