Can
My Adolescent Drive a Car?
?
Many
parents ask me about the ability of people on the autism spectrum to drive a
car. I have been driving since I was eighteen. I learned on the dirt roads at my
aunt's ranch. Every day for an entire summer, I drove her old pickup truck
three miles to the mailbox and back. The truck had a manual gear shift and it
would stall unless the clutch was worked just right. Because of the difficult
clutch for the first few weeks my aunt operated the clutch and I sat beside
her, learning to steer. After I learned steering, it took me several weeks to ?master the clutch. Aunt Ann made sure I had
completely mastered steering, braking, and changing gears before she let me
drive the truck on a paved road with traffic.
?
The
main difference between a typical adolescent and a person with autism is that
more time may be required to master the skills involved in driving a car, and
these skills may need to be learned one piece at a time. For instance, I didn't
drive on a freeway until I was completely comfortable with slower traffic. The
several months of driving in the safe dirt roads on the farm provided the extra
time I needed to learn safely.
?
When
a motor skill, such as driving, is being learned, all people have to
consciously think about the parts involved, such as steering or operating the
clutch. During this phase of motor learning, the brain's frontal cortex is very
active. When a skill such as driving or steering becomes fully learned, the
person no longer has to think about performing the sequential steps involved.
Steering the car becomes automatic and conscious thinking about how to do it is
no longer required. At this point, the frontal cortex is no longer activated.
The motor cortex takes over when a skill is fully learned and the skill is
executed unconsciously,
?
I
would recommend that the process of steering, braking, and otherwise operating
a car be fully learned to the "motor automatic" stage before
permitting your son or daughter to drive in any amount of traffic, or on a
freeway. This helps solve the multitasking requirements involved with driving
and frees up the frontal cortex to concentrate on traffic, rather than the
operation of the car itself.
?
If
a child can ride a bike safely, and reliably obey the traffic rules, he or she
can probably drive a car. When I was ten years old, I rode my bike everywhere
and always obeyed the rules. Likewise, to be able to drive a car, a person must
already know how to steer a bike, golf cart, trike, electric wheelchair, or a
toy vehicle. Parents interested in teaching their child to drive a car can plan
ahead while the child is still young, making sure he or she first masters some
of these skills on other types of vehicles.
?
Another
critical issue to consider is the maturity level of the individual. Does the
boy or girl have enough mature judgment to drive a car? Are they careful to
obey rules given them? How do they react under pressure? These factors need to
be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine if an adolescent is ready to
tackle driving a car. I recommend allowing the person on the spectrum extra
time to learn the basic operation of the car and the individual skills involved
in driving. After each driving skill becomes fully learned and integrated with
the other skills, they can slowly progress to driving on roads with more and
more traffic, higher speeds, more frequent stops, or areas where there is a
greater chance for different events to occur (for instance, driving in
neighborhoods with lots, of children or a high concentration of business
establishments with cars pulling in and out of parking spaces regularly) Finally,
nighttime driving should be avoided until the adolescent is very comfortable
with all aspects of daytime driving.
?
I
think rather than pondering CAN my child with ASD drive a car, the more
appropriate question is "Is my child READY to drive a car?" The act
of driving a car can be broken down into small, manageable pieces for
instruction. The motor skills can be taught and, with enough practice, can be
learned. However, driving is a serious matter, one that involves more than just
learned skills. Each parent needs to decide whether or not their son or
daughter has the maturity and good judgment required to allow them to get behind
the wheel of a car. In this regard, the parents' decision is no different for a
person on the spectrum than it would be for a typical child.
?
Temple
Grandin "The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism &
Asperger's" (2011)
