Julia Malkin MBE - ADI with Autism and ADHD - More Info available here

ADHD, Learning and Driving

Covering:

• How to support ADHD people and the difficulties they face behind the wheel of a car
• See the road through the eyes of a person with ADHD
• Communication, setting goals, confidence and preparation for the test

Having undertaken this additional training means that there is a real understanding of what can be altered to make the learning process more manageable for a person with ADHD, things that can work depending on situation and issues presented:

• Use of visual story boards (see here for some examples)
• Taking regular breaks including movement breaks to help reset
• Getting out of the car to watch traffic at a difficult junction - this takes away the stress of the car control whilst allowing focus on a new element or skill (eg. Gap Judgement, etc.)
• Swapping driver, making the pupil the commentate on what is happing - again without the stress of the car control
• Breaking down new techniques into smaller manageable chunks
• Using positive reinforcement at every opportunity
• As with all Client Centred Driver training the pupil is heavily involved in the goal setting
• Identifying early a "Comfort Zone" of driving that can be used to return to to help reset if stress levels are high