There are many incredible drivers who suffer from dyslexic symptoms - Jackie Stewart is just one great example. However many affected by these symptoms find that the co-ordination required for good driving never becomes “automatic”. This means they are likely to go into “overload” in stressful situations when driving and are likely to hold their hand on the horn for a while or make other impulsive reactions.
If such a person gets stopped by the police their impulsive reactions can get dramatically worse! If they are asked to stand on one leg or walk along a straight line the lack of co-ordination from their vestibular/cerebellar often means that this is difficult or even impossible to do. There have been many cases of dyspraxic sufferers accused of being under the influence when it is nothing of the sort - through no fault of their own, they are like that all day every day.
If such a person gets stopped by the police their impulsive reactions can get dramatically worse! If they are asked to stand on one leg or walk along a straight line the lack of co-ordination from their vestibular/cerebellar often means that this is difficult or even impossible to do. There have been many cases of dyspraxic sufferers accused of being under the influence when it is nothing of the sort - through no fault of their own, they are like that all day every day.
6 comments:
Dear Wynford,
It took me 4 attempts to pass my driving test and all this time I have thought of myself as useless.
Through my 35 years I have acquired all the hurtfull labels of thick, slow, lazy and boring. The feeling of having no confidence and not being able to fit in has always led to a lonely life.
Upon recently reading your book I can connect with much of what has been written. I now realise I have been exhibiting signs of CDD throughout my life.
I am hoping to change all this and embark upon your programme very soon. I am so thankfull for all your hard work and perseverance. Your presence in this world is a gift to everyone.
Kind regards,
Alan Barbero
Dear Wynford,
I am dyspraxic and have been learning to drive ( on and off, mostly off) for fourteen years. I have never taken a driving test.
I got my provisional licence with oh so much enthusiasm at 21, but was too damn scared to learn for fear of my own effect on other road users. I have poor spatial awareness- I bump into people in the street and create havoc with a grocery cart. I also have difficulties multi tasking, though I have good days and bad days. On a good day, I feel I can conquer the world and that I'm on fire, multitasking to my hearts content. On a bad day, I feel like my head will explode if someone interupts a sentence, of if the radio distracts me. There's just too much genius at work in my brain, see? !
My first driving instructor was obsessed with describing every mechanical detail- i.e as you change gear the cogs are doing this, and blah blah blah. I thought I was going mad. I once pulled over into a layby to let him finish his monologue whilst I worked out how to turn on the windscreen wipers.
I wasn't identified with dyspraxia until I was 31. Suddenly everything made sense- why I became so easily stressed, how I couldn't cope with noisy pubs, why I would get so confused in meetings. I believe I had already developed incredible coping mechanisms, but suddenly here was a chance to grasp dyspraxia with every positive cell in my body. Now I recognise that the way in which my wonderful haphazard brain works is the very reason why I am also incredibly creative, why I know an awful lot of things that most people don't remember ( but don't remember the major things that most people know!), and how I have such a vivid imagination that I can dream up writings and pictures that earn me a part time living alongside my main job. And with a bit of determination, and working with it rather than fighting it, I've now held down my career for five years, and taken higher qualifications with more in the pipeline.
To anyone reading this who is dyspraxic, then congratulations ! You have the gift of a wonderfully chaotic mind. Find ways to work with it. Recognize that you will have good and bad days. Identify all the coping strategies you have already developed without realizing it, and develop new ones if you can.
I'm about to start learning to drive again though. Wish me, and all the other road users, the very best of luck!
Hi,my name is Ian and I'm a driving instructor in the U.K.
I am currently teaching a man with dyspraxia.Can anyone hepl me?
Hi Ian,
As a learner driver who's also dyspraxic, here are the problems I have. The symptoms do however vary from person to person.
- next to no spatial awareness. This makes working out where I need to drive difficult: which side of the road do I need to turn onto, which side is my blind spot on, how do I fit into what I can see going on in the rear-view mirror. Going through the route beforehand may help, as does repetition of difficult tasks.
For parking, I just learnt a series of points off by heart. I can't work out where my car is, or how the wheels are positioned during this, but parking generally works out.
- "overload" - I compare this to an old computer. It can cope with one programme, on a good day three, but any more and it freezes. So does my brain. If this is the case with your learner, it's worth practising what to do in that situation. My first reaction was to slam the brake :-(
Although dyspraxia isn't recognised in Germany where I live, my instructor decided that if multitasking was a problem, he would practise steering so much with me that eventually it would become automatic. After a number of slalom exercises in a carpark, it did. His trick was to imagine I was on a bicycle - the car/bike goes where my eyes are looking.
To find the middle of your lane, either orient yourself by following the person in front, or better, the discoloured tarmac on the road which has shown where all the other cars have gone.
You could also make the whole turning routine etc automatic.
On this point, it's worth remembering not to "quick fire" things the learner has forgotten - once I've been told I've forgotten the blind spot, am driving too far right, am driving too slowly/quickly, all in quick succession, I'm finished.
This latter point is also important - dyspraxics may appear more "sensitive" as, when my brain is overloaded, I have a tendency to burst into tears. A safe environment to do that is paramount.
Be careful of extra distractions.Some people will find that music on the radio helps them to concentrate, others that it's one more thing occupying that overloaded brain. I find it difficult to talk and drive at the same time.
The next thing I'm looking into is the efficacy of doing some form of relaxation exercise before the lessons to help me concentrate better.
Finally, it's worth bearing in mind that dyspraxia is not linked to low intelligence, in fact often the opposite is true. However, low self-esteem is something which often goes hand-in-hand with this condition due to being "different" or a life spent not being able to do "easy things", with no explanation (diagnoses seem to be relatively recent - I don't actually have one as, when I self-diagnosed at 21, the only test the sceptic doctor could offer me was an inappropiate child/toddler test). Show respect, find out sth about the learner as a person, not a driver. Praise, but not false praise. And don't let the learner sink into a "victim mentality" of "I can't do it". Push them to be as independent as possible, while knowing that you're there with a second set of pedals and x years of experience.
Good luck - to you and your learner.
Cheers,
Melissa
Hi everyone,
I just came home from a driving lesson very frustrated and angry with myself. I just had to look up something to help and when I read this and some of the posts in it I burst out crying (because most of them relate to me).
I have so much difficulty driving, especially in places I don't know. If I'm driving around my local town I'm relatively ok but it's when I venture out into the town where the test centre is that I start panicking.
In both towns I have difficulty with junctions but more roundabouts - deciding when to go, what gear to be in, going to early (as in nearly going in the path of an oncoming vehicle) or not going when I had the chance because I've spent too long thinking about it.
I have recently discovered that I am dyspraxic and things are starting to make sense but are still not much easier. I have difficulty at work and will probably lose my job in a few months because of this and of course with the driving. I am waiting to see a psycologist so we will see what they say.
It's nice to be in a place knowing I'm not the only one and that other people have gone through similar things :)
Like so many dyspraxic's I am finding learning to drive a nightmare. I started learning when I was seventeen and I'm now 26!
I've been feeling very down recently about my lack of progress so when I read about people with similar issues it makes me feel so much better to know that I'm not alone and that other people are in the same boat.
Reading about our similar struggles inspires me to continue and to become a success, we must continue to push ourselves and not become despondent remember 'if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything' (Back to the Future)
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