Here's the link to the first driving-related episode: www.patreon.com/posts/alltistic-19-to-135876271?ut… And this is how you connect Patreon to your favourite podcast apps!: support.patreon.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360041347732…
1 week ago | 13
I hate driving. I still don’t have my license. Driving is terrifying.
1 week ago | 138
i live in the us and got my liscense at 17. i’m autistic and driving is sometimes hard for me (mostly the sounds and smells of the road), but i don’t live in a city where walking is really an option and we don’t have public transit either. for teens in ohio we have to take 24 hours worth of classroom type instruction where we learn road laws, and then we have to do 12 hours of driving with an instructor there’s a TON of pressure to get your liscense as soon as you can here. my ex kinda used to bully me about not having a liscense for so long. having a liscense and a job as is sort of what sets kids and “mature” teenagers apart from each other. i hate the car culture in rural america but there’s literally no other way for me to get to school or work :(
1 week ago | 66
Being an Autistic Car Ethusiast, prehaps i can give a few pointers to help. - Try sticking to Older Models that don't have massive (ridiculous) screens or excessive tech, I personally find it over-stimulating and possibly dangerous - Try learning about how a Car works, not anything in-depth like complex repairs or system functions. But rather how to maintain it, how to fix a minor problem like a flat tire, that sort of thing. For re-assurance. - And third, most Importantly in my opinion, when it comes time for you to get a Car, get one that you genuinely enjoy driving. Something that you can feel tactile connection to the road, and appeals to your driving style. Happy Motoring!
1 week ago | 15
I’m also autistic and driving scared me so much when I first started learning. I got my license earlier this year, at the age of 25, long after most of my allistic friends. Now that I’m driving consistently though, it’s low key been so freeing! Not having to rely on other people for rides to appointments, being able to go to the store whenever I want, visiting friends more often, it’s awesome and I’m so glad I pushed through the anxiety to get here ❤
1 week ago | 17
AuDHD here, driving is my happy place. I can keep part of my brain busy with steering and shifting (stick shift for life!) while the rest of my brain just freely rides the train of thought. Growing up, my mom and I had regular "driveway moments" because talking honestly and openly is easier when you can't look at each other, and the space is quiet (if you want) and private. It was where I told my mom that I wanted to get on birth control because I was sexually active, and it was where I told my mom that I was feeling suicidal and needed a therapist. Learning how to drive was easy for me because I had spent so much time in the passenger seat and loved being in the car.
1 week ago | 6
I'm scared of driving. It's terrifying. So many drivers DO NOT follow the traffic rules and it makes me so mad and so anxious. I still don't have my license yet, I'm currently learning, and I'm not a teen anymore so some of my relatives thinks it's odd. My brother is also autistic and he just refuses to drive because of how dangerous it is. Driving is scary. 😮
1 week ago | 50
I got my permit at 15 and passed my driving test first try with a perfect score at 17. I f**king hate driving. It gives me a headache if I drive for more than a half hour or so at a time because there's too much going on and too much to focus on. I only drive when I really have no other choice, and I refuse to take the freeway. It annoys my family, and they constantly tell me I need to "get used to it" and "it's not that bad" and "it's part of adulting". I hate being an adult. :(
1 week ago | 9
Oh my gosh it feels so reliving to hear that im not the only one who feels this way im 32 and still cant drive and it feels awful everyone else is having the best time learning and I m scared to try again.
1 week ago | 2
My special interest being cars and driving helped a lot. I always hyper focus when I drive and I find it relaxing. I do go about it differently to typical drivers, I'm logical, predictable, but I like being fast, too. I gave driving lessons to an autistic friend who was very anxious about getting back into driving and it seemed to help them a lot. I'm considering making a career out of it but changing careers is terrifying
1 week ago (edited) | 14
I learned to drive as a teen before knowing I was autistic. We just knew I was uncoordinated as heck. It took me more lessons than average to become competent and I was incredibly anxious while learning. I'm fine with regular daily driving to work or the grocery store but I don't drive in the main city, and get anxious driving anywhere unfamiliar. To get comfortable driving outside areas I know, I might be a passenger with someone else driving to get my bearings. Once I feel comfortable with not getting lost, and the road layout, then it's fine.
1 week ago | 1
driving is an ongoing project. this is the fourth city I've lived in and I've had my license for 10 years but I have to relearn the driving rules and culture in new cities/states. STRESSFUL.
1 week ago | 2
I'm 34 and I still don't drive. I've tried lessons twice - around 10 when I was 17, and then another 2 when I was about 31. It's just so overwhelming and I overthink everything. I took up cycling instead to help me get around, and that worked for me for years, but I have a torn hip due to hypermobility which is starting to make it difficult. I'm considering trying driving lessons again at some point, but I'm going to go for an automatic license rather than manual, because I feel like taking some variables out of the equation might make it a bit more attainable for me. Finding the right teacher will be important too. The last guy I had decided our lessons were a great place to discuss politics :')
1 week ago (edited) | 3
I finally passed my driving test last year when I was 34. Tried learning when I was 19 but stopped as I found it way too stressful. Ended up passing in automatic instead as I found that much easier than a manual. Think my kids were a big reason for learning to drive as it’s so much easier to get them to school and visit places now. Think being autistic definitely made it hard with learning but I am glad I did it in the end.
1 week ago | 3
I haven't learned to drive. The one time I got behind the wheel to drive was on an empty road. I drove for like an hour, but when I stopped, everything still felt like it was moving and it made me feel so dizzy. Riding passenger never made me feel like that, so I'm convinced it was driving that did it. Heck, just getting into the driver's seat was setting off every alarm in my body, and I was white knuckling the wheel and pressing my back to the seat the whole time. I never eased up.
1 week ago (edited) | 1
my brother first taught me how to ride a moped and then i went to a driving instructor to take the licence for it. the driving instructor was usually a little vocal. shouted at me because i slowly rolled a stop sign once when there was no traffic. not sure if it was me or him, but the instructor always made me feel "on edge" around him, could not manage to relax whenever i had lessons. when learning how to drive a car my brother and mom would take me to some place with no traffic and teach me how to drive. as soon as i could control the car well enough i became the designated driver whenever we were going somewhere for about a year until i was old enough to take the licence. this time i used a different instructor at a different school, this new one was very relaxed and kind. he would calmly explain my faults to me, explained why i needed to do something, had good answers for any questions i had and sometimes demonstrated when needed (gave me the what, why, how). with this new instructor it felt like i could relax and found learning to drive properly fairly easy, however i struggled with getting new information/corrections to stick right away. so often my driving instructor would tell me that i should improve something and i had a hard time adjusting my driving style until next lesson. for some reason everything would just "click" the next driving lesson and the thing i struggled with the day before was now somehow easy (wtf brain?). having a good driving instructor can make or break the experience IMO. ended up taking A2, A, B and BE with this instructor and passed all tests at the DMV first try. i have had 5 cars and 4 bikes, out of them i still have 2 cars and 2 bikes. driving is part of my everyday life now, it has become 2nd nature to me and i'm eternally grateful that i can drive wherever and whenever i want.
1 week ago (edited) | 1
I hate driving. Tried to learn when I turned 17 and quit because it was so stressful. Tried again a few years ago and gave up again. I’m 29 and I just contacted a driving school again today because it’s simply too hard to be an adult who can’t drive. I’ve wondered if autism could make it harder…
1 week ago | 43
As a teen I never was excited about driving like my friends were. I was terrified of it. I didn't get my permit until 18. And didn't get my license until 22. Even then it was only out of necessity. (I didn't know then that I was autistic.) I still only drive when I have to. My husband does most of the driving. Now my teen daughter who just was diagnosed autistic doesn't want to drive. I told her I won't push her to do it because I understand. She can when she is ready.
1 week ago (edited) | 9
I'm TERRIFIED of driving. 32 and have never made an attempt to learn. My sister forced me behind the wheel once to drive down the street and park in our driveway... I almost hit our brother's new car. I don't trust myself to be able to stay attentive, and were I to attempt it I think it would cause me too much stress. No thank you.
1 week ago | 2
I hated driving during the initial period when a parent had to be in the car. As soon as I got my license and could drive alone, I loved it. A long solo drive with an audiobook is paradise.
1 week ago (edited) | 19
I'm Autistic, Now What?
Oh, the dread we used to feel whenever our driving instructors pulled up 😩 Forever hoping they'd cancel a lesson, but alas they never did 💀
One of the things that brought Lewis and me together was our shared hatred for driving lessons 😩😅 It felt like everyone else our age was having this lovely grown-up experience... and we were crying in our rooms after lessons 😅
How did you find learning to drive? How does it work in your country? And how many attempts did it take you to pass? (Lewis and I had 6 attempts between us 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗 🚗)
If you want almost 3 hours of us chatting about driving, you can listen to the latest two podcast episodes over on Patreon 🐌 And there's another 24+ hours of podcast to catch up on too!
In episode 20, I discussed how my autism diagnosis has affected my desire to drive (and the very mixed feelings I have about that - I actually felt quite emotional when I was recording).
Thank you so much to all of the wonderful Patreon snails who've been so kind and supportive in the comments! I'm so lucky that you'll listen to my little oversharing moments! 😅💛🐌
Lots of exciting things to come on the channel, and I'm sure I'll be talking about driving at some stage over here too 💛💛💛
1 week ago | [YT] | 1,815