Autism and driving

[Poddi]

I just discovered today that a lot of autistic people can't drive. Somehow it just never occurred to me that my DS might not be able to drive a car. His brother is color blind and might not be able to drive either. If both of my kids won't be able to drive that'll really suck. Good grief, how will they get to school or work? I don't currently drive due to medical issues. DH isn't very happy that he's the only driver in the family.

Does anyone here have older autistic children who don't drive? Do you just give them lifts all the time or move to a location close to everything?

[Linda on the move]

It really sounds like your family needs to live where there is good public transportation!

[Village Mama]

I have never driven but instead rely on public transit, walking and biking. It is definitely a lot easier living in a city ( which I don't!) because those forms of transit are more reliable! I have never had trouble getting to school, university or work.
When I searched it before to see if it was common among Aspies to not drive, it seemed to be that I was amongst the minority.

[Purple*Lotus]

I always fail the green/yellow on the color blind test and was never told that I couldn't drive. I can tell which light is on. It could be different for me because I am female so my color blindness might not be like, official in that respect.

I agree that maybe your boys can live where there is good public transit

[HarperRose]

My cousin and I (both w/ Asperger's) both drive.

My son does not, but he's only 10.

[lolar2]

I don't know about autism statistics in general (I know a few people with Asperger's who drive and a few who don't), but many of the men in my family are color-blind, at least red-green blind, and they all drive.

[BookGoddess]

I've met autistic adults (quite high-functioning) who drive themselves to the store, work, church, etc.

I have a close relative (neurotypical all the way) who has an inner ear problem so he gets dizzy frequently and consequently he doesn't drive. He relies on excellent public transportation.

Not driving can be an inconvenience, but if you have good safe public transportation it can be the next best thing.

[2boyzmama]

My aspie brother is 17 and had been working on driving for a few years. He's not ready to take the test yet, he's still very nervous and has a lot of trouble thinking of all the steps. During one practice test, for example, he turned left, but didn't get into the turning lane to do it, which is a ticketable offense and an automatic fail on the test. He just gets flustered when he has to make a decision..."I have to turn left up here. Okay. I have to stop. Which direction is left again? I have to put on my blinker. I have to look for oncoming cars. I have to accelerate slowly." and in that process he forgot to get into the turning lane.

Part of the problem is when someone is telling him what to do when he's driving. He has a lot of trouble with verbal processing, so if that is added to the already complex equation of driving, it throws him off. If he is allowed to drive in silence, on auto pilot, then he thinks less and he does better.

He will probably not take his drivers test for a while still, he needs to be able to be more on auto pilot when he drives, less thinking!!! And right now he lives in the country with a very small 3 stoplight town. It will be a long time before he can handle driving in a city!

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

My aspie brother is 17 and had been working on driving for a few years.

I didn't know you had an aspie brother.

I think that it will take our DD a long time to learn to drive. She's only 13, but my Dh already takes her on practice trips where they drive around in circles in empty parking lots. (which they both enjoy A LOT).

The things you describe are exactly what will be hard for her, but I'm confident that she'll eventually be able to do short simple trips, like from our house to the community college 15 minutes away (at least during non-peak times).

Some cities also provide special sorts of transportation for adults with special needs, so there are options.

I had a friend who couldn't drive because of complete lack of depth perception. She lived on a good bus line and sometimes used cabs. She made it work.

[2boyzmama]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

I didn't know you had an aspie brother.

Yep And he's a hoot! Looking back now, it was obvious from the time he was born that he was *different*. The sensory stuff got pretty bad in his 2s and 3s, wow was that a really hard stage for him!!! School has been ridiculously easy and really hard at the same time. He's got the typical social issues, and his brain just works on such a different wave length. Group work is really hard for him, he sees things differently, completes his work differently, so group work is torture for him. He's never been on an IEP, my mom has just worked closely with his teachers through the years to give him slight accomodations (like letting him read a book, his way of calming himself; giving him extra level work instead of busy work; letting him check out more than the normal 2 books at a time from the library, etc)

He recently got a 33 on his ACT, and is going to re-take it trying to get an even higher score He's going to a premier engineering college when he graduates next year. I think he'll do great there (once he gets past the stupid freshman-level-300-students-in-a-class classes).

He has spent the last two summers with me (we live a state apart) helping with my boys so my husband can take summer classes. It's been really good for him to get away from home, get more exposure to a bigger city, and have some responsibility (watching my boys). He isn't coming this summer, he wants to get a "real" job instead But without a license, who knows how that will work out. (no public transportation in his town)

I think he will drive, I just think that it will take a few more years before he's comfortable with it. Starting earlier would have been a good idea, in hind sight!

[Lollybrat]

My son will be 6 in a few weeks, so we are a long way away from this issue, but I think about it every now and then. I seriously doubt he will ever drive, between his ASD and his mild visual impairment. However, DH is not ready to give up the dream of teach DS to drive, helping him buy a car, etc.

[sncmom]

My father had Asperger's and he drove easily and well.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

He's going to a premier engineering college when he graduates next year. I think he'll do great there

He should do GREAT! My DH is an aerospace engineer and is convinced that half that guys he's worked with over the years have asperger's.

He also thinks that "asperger's" is the worse possible dx because it sounds like "a$$ burgers" and paints of picture of a tush on a bun, complete with lettuce and tomato.

[BookGoddess]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

He should do GREAT! My DH is an aerospace engineer and is convinced that half that guys he's worked with over the years have asperger's.

Same here. I work with a lot of engineers. There are a few here that are quite clearly Aspies.

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

He also thinks that "asperger's" is the worse possible dx because it sounds like "a$$ burgers" and paints of picture of a tush on a bun, complete with lettuce and tomato.

I've even seen people spell it that way.

[FitMama]

My 7yo son with PDD-NOS says "You said a bad word!!!" when we say Asperger's around him. I think he is also hearing "ass" in the word.