ADHD and driving?

[MrsSunshine]

just sitting here and thinking. in 6 months tomorrow Ds1 will be 16.. holy crap... so wondering who decides if he can't drive due to practically no attention span.. Dr. or Ministry.. dont' even think he could retain the book.. hate to break his heart.. he's even been 'searching' for a car/truck to fix up..1yr and 6 months ill have another to add to this dilemma. what do i do.. NOW..

[eversoclever]

Ya know, scary as it is, I would still try to teach him how to drive. I ended up teaching my DH, and it was so much harder than if he'd started learning as a teenager. It's something that takes a great deal of time for them as far as learning the rules of the road -- but remember that people with ADHD respond well in high-stimulus situations. He might actually be a great driver once he has the basics mastered.

ETA: I would hire a driving instructor. I think we paid for two rounds of driving lessons before I felt comfortable getting in the car with him, lol. GL!

[Leigh]

i would put him into driving school and see how he does!

[hockeymomof3]

I wonder the same thing, but since my son has good marks at school (thanks to me for making sure it gets done properly and on time) the doc won't put him on medication. So I don't think when he gets his license, that I have to even tell them he has ADHD.

[MrsSunshine]

just between us.. dh has already let him practise. safely of course.. so he's ok with it.. but i can't take the test.. so i would hate to let him practise.. save him money for ? cause were not letting him drive our car.. he knows this.. only to find out that he can't handle the 'impulses' or freaks out.. while driving and hurts himself or someone else.. i'd love for both of them to drive if I knew they'd be ok... anyone with ADHD here that drives NOW can tell me their experience..

[Becks]

I know when my brother dd it he actually had someone help him do the test, I cannot remember how they helped him but they did, I should ask him, although he got his Beginners NS, but they may have something similar here.
The only thing I find with my brother is that he is fine in small town settings but now that he no longer takes medication he has a hard time driving in a city setting as there is just too much going on around him, he drives from his house to Dartmouth somtimes but he only makes it as far as a place he knows well (my sisters place) and then she drives around the rest of the way, if he still took medication he would have no problem with big city driving

[frugalmom]

my BIL has ADHD and other learning disorders, and he was able to do the written test “orally“ as its hard for him to write out answers. He's actually a great driver and its really added to his self esteem.

[MrsSunshine]

hmm very interesting reading. thanks ladies.. i will talk to his dr. next time we see her.. i can't freaking believe in 6 months he will be 16... didn't i just bring him home..

[MrsSunshine]

just updating a little. Dh and I are VERY impressed.. dh has been teaching ds1 how to drive our little beast on and off for the past few months.. both in a local church parking lot as well as in our own.. i must say he's surpassing both of our expectations.. were looking at surprising him for Valentines day (as Gpa is going for his test too --two birds with one stone).. and taking him for his test. keep ya updated

[/wasn't me/]

just updating a little. Dh and I are VERY impressed.. dh has been teaching ds1 how to drive our little beast on and off for the past few months.. both in a local church parking lot as well as in our own.. i must say he's surpassing both of our expectations.. were looking at surprising him for Valentines day (as Gpa is going for his test too --two birds with one stone).. and taking him for his test. keep ya updated

awww that's great and I am sure he is going to love the surprise

is he already studying the book?

[MrsSunshine]

he has taken out of the library quite a few times since last July.

[Lindsay'smama]

Yay, good luck to your DS

[MrsSunshine]

ya we were talking about it tonite.. ha Dh says he can park better than i do.. backwards.. in snow. he even got stuck..and knew how to get unstuck without being told. guess he was really paying attention when dh was helping others in our last snowstorm.. he needs to sit down in the next few days to week with the book one more time. but crossing my fingers he does well. cuz he really needs a HUGE self esteem booster.

[MysticalGemini]

go with a driving instructor - it will probably help him out a lot! good luck with the test DS of yours!!

[Happily Ever After]

GOOD LUCK TO YOUR DS!!!