Re: Article~The Challenge of Driving With Asperger’s

[Guest guest]

Interesting in some ways, but it seems to suggest a "danger to the public" aspect that is not supported by any measurable data. Other drivers are judged by their driving record, and Aspies should be as well.Since I wasn't aware of Asperger's for most of my life, I never thought about it as relating to difficulties with "reading" other drivers. I did notice, however, that I observed many more "problems" than other people did, and I noted that my own reading of what went on predicted far more mishaps that what actually occurs. So I accepted that something was off in my reading, and i was able to better adapt over time (which is to say, over decades).I learned to drive using manual transmission and it was quite challenging, as were the other multitasking aspects of driving. The fact that something is challenging, however, does not imply that it should not be attempted. Like everyone else, Aspies can learn from doing things they find difficult. And I still have a manual transmission, over 40 years after I learned to drive.>> > > > The Challenge of Driving With Asperger’s > > NY Times > > > > http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/the-challenge-of-driving-with-aspergers/>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I read that with a skeptical eye too. I'm not sure that Aspergers (or even high

functioning autism) in and of itself would be a hindrance to becoming a good

driver. I tend to think that the problems would be related to factors which

could be comorbid to AS, such as cognitive impairment, severe ADHD, severe

anxiety, etc.

I'd love to hear Bill's take on this, since on list and off, in spite of

" evidence " I've tried to offer up and he has refuted in every case from the

vantage point of his vast clinical background, even what some of us refer to as

" slower processing " which seems (anecdotally) common to AS, if I understand Bill

correctly, that is a separate issue. Bill? offered another interesting

viewpoint about Aspie processing back in December and I'll just point y'all to

the archive post here:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/aspires-relationships/message/17042

ly I've ridden with some perfectly awful NT drivers, LOL. I'm no shrinking

violet myself, but my observation is that my purely Aspergerish friends are

better drivers on the whole.

I do recall in the distant past that some members of this group reported that

their AS young adult children remained reticent about learning to drive until

they were much older than their peers. That may have been some wisdom on the

young Aspie's part. Given some of the spectacular accidents some young people

are in, it seems to me that some of them (here I am talking about NT youth) have

not developed all the global skills needed, but may feel pressured to perform

beyond their skill level so as to impress their peers. Spectrum kids (and

adults) don't feel the same pressure to impress.

- Helen

> > The Challenge of Driving With Asperger’s

> > NY Times

> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/the-challenge-of-driving-with-a\

> spergers/

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Although I can understand why driving may be difficult for “some†people with Asperger’s I would just like to say that my husband was a driving instructor for Young Driver’s of Canada for 4 years and he was the instructor that they gave all of the really hard cases to because he was so patient. I actually believe that the experience of having that job paved the way for great growth and increased self esteem for him because he was very respected and great at his job. Because he was in control of the situation and was only dealing with one person at a time he was relaxed and learned a lot about social communication from his interactions. Deb From: aspires-relationships [mailto:aspires-relationships ] On Behalf Of opu@...Sent: March-27-12 2:25 PMTo: aspires-relationships ; aspires-relationships Subject: Article~The Challenge of Driving With Asperger’s The Challenge of Driving With Asperger’sNY Times http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/the-challenge-of-driving-with-aspergers/