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Driving and Autism

Silver Fox

Dear Autistic friends

I am a neuro typical woman with a partner who very much seems to have ASD, although he will never examine this or go there himself. We have a 14-year-old boy who is not autistic. 

My partner only learnt how to drive after turning 50. He's now 57. He does seem to struggle with the multi tasking required and gets very stressed. I think he especially struggles with judging speed and distance, taking corners too fast, reading road signs, and directions. Omg his stress about where he is heading is through the roof.

The problem is, I find his driving genuinely worrying. I have been driving myself for 40 years. He very much does not want me to express my stress because this makes him more stressed and that just makes it worse. He becomes abusive and shouts at me, telling me to shut up etc. He makes me sit in the back and makes our son navigate for him, then gets stressed when that goes wrong!

Basically this is a family problem. Am I wrong to put his driving problems down to potential ASD? Does anyone here have problems driving and if so what are the challenges? 

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  • in reply to DormouseAtRest_25

    I second that on the eye test. I get a strong sense when I'm out driving that a lot of other drivers cannot see where they're going. Driving, especially in twilight, without properly corrected vision can be very nerve wracking.

    It's no harm getting an eye test, even if you think your vision is fine. There are lots of other things that can be wrong with your eyes after 50 and a quick, cheap and painless eye test every couple of years can make a big difference in preserving your sight for longer.