Learning to drive

I'm in a situation where the only realistic way to get to where I work is by car, but I can't drive. I've been too scared to learn to drive and finally had 2 lessons last year and then quit because it was making me too stressed.

At the moment my wife drives me to work. She told me to take the job even though I knew I could not get to it myself and said she would always drive me but now she says she doesn't want to drive me any more.

Being in a car even as a passenger sometimes makes me quite nervous, flinching when other cars go past, and I can't really contemplate being the driver. Having to check a mirror even though I know I often look right at something but not "notice" it's there, having to maintain concentration when I regularly find myself daydreaming at inopportune moments, and panicking under stress all make me think i would be a danger on the road.

Has anyone else had to deal with this sort of situation, these sort of feelings? I've seen that there are some driving schools who say they have experience of teaching autistic people so i could try and see if they make it any easier but i really feel like driving is something i can never do..

  • ive had alot of driving lessons with varying degrees of sucess and some catastopic failures after nearly giving up i found a driving school that specialises in teaching speccial needs they are mor expensive but well worth it im now waiting for a diagnosis so i can apply for an extended test and some adaptations to the test as i find the stress of the test difficult in the mean time after three attempts i am the proud owner of a cbt certifcate and am allowed on the road on a moped which will let me keep my job (am in the same boat my patner will drive me but its too much really he works nights i work earlys )

    my advice break it down 

    get a bicycle go on the road on a cycle 

    then upgrade to an electric bike 

    then a moped 

    then a small automatic car with a very carefully selected instructor 

    dont pin your hopes on it by obsessing i must do this to keep my job it increases the stress turn it round i want to do this for myself my freedom take an enormous amount of pride in each step take it as slow as you can 

  • How far is it to work? Could you cycle?

    Maybe you could get someone you know (and trust) to give you some more informal lessons? Start out in an empty car park or similar and get used to that first?