AS and driving?

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Someone told me I do not have HFA/AS because I drive a car. Why is it so difficult to believe I can drive? My father and mother taught how to drive at a very young age. I learned how to ride a pony when I was 4. Riding a pony is similar to driving a vehicle. Age 8 I learned to drive the riding lawn mower. And after I mastered the lawn mower my mother taught me how to drive the car 1 block at a time when I had a paper route at age 12. My father bought me a moped at age 14. I believe the early teaching by my parents prepared me to drive a car.

I cAn drive pretty well. I first drove in a field which was a good idea, as I knew how to drive a car before there was other traffic. The only real issue I had was judging other cars speed and distance away at junctions and roundabouts. I've been told by somebody that those who are autistic can't reverse cars. That was amusing, not sure how they thought that up.

I've been driving for almost 50 years. I've driven back and forth across the U.S. I actually like to drive.

I drive.. Not long distances if I can help. Takes alot of energy focusing on EVERYTHING when I'm driving, but I can manage it. I prefer others to be the driver. Im best at the passenger seat guiding and choosing what music plays

I don't know why they would assume we all can't drive. Most people with high-functioning autism are capable of driving.

I will admit though that I know a lot of teens/early twenties aspies who can't drive. In high school, I was in a class full of other kids with Aspergers and I was the only one out of 20 kids that had their license. In fact, I was only the third out of all the kids in history that ever drove to school. I'm probably not too far off when I say that most aspies didn't drive in high school.

It's not because we're not capable of driving. I think a lot of us either have a lot of anxiety about driving, we can't afford a car so no need for license, or we're simply just not interested. I knew this one guy who once drove but he got in a bad car accident so now he's scared of driving. I got my license the summer before my senior year.

Ridiculous. AS/HFA should in no way inhibit driving skills. I'm DXd AS and have a niece who's PDD-NOS and we both drive just fine. Both of us developed an interest in driving somewhat later than our peers, but learning the skill is not that big a deal, just a little nerve-wracking at first. She actually said she's more concerned about the meds she takes causing her a problem because they induce such a hyper-focus state that it's like driving with blinders on - so intent on where she's going, she doesn't notice peripheral activity as well.

I've been driving since 1976 and have only had four moving violations and been in one accident (not my fault) in all those years. It probably helped that my dad used to be in the insurance industry and drilled Defensive Driving techniques into me from childhood.

In fact, James Robison restores antique cars, so I assume he also drives them. I've seen photos of Dan Ackroyd driving both cars and motorcycles and he was diagnosed AS at the age of 9.

I drive. I prefer to drive alone. I get distracted when I am driving and others are in the car.

My wife says I am a "scary" driver. Whenever we go somewhere together in the car, she always drives.

I got HFA and I drive. I tend to drive fast but I haven't gotten a speeding ticket and my only accident in six years of driving a car was in a parking lot.

I don't think I'll ever learn to drive. I don't know if I have the coordination and visual-spatial skills required--I can barely even drive go-karts. I also think I would have trouble knowing the right time to go or to brake and that sort of stuff. I would be terrified to get behind the wheel.

the only time i love driving these days...is for road trips...specially in the mountains during the day with hardly any traffic. only then i enjoy the freedom that the car is meant to give!

for local driving... ONLY WHEN I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. because I'm surrounded by idiotic NT drivers who make local driving ... like to and from work... an absolute nightmare. i hardly drive at all during winter.

and those that say AS drivers can't drive...are prolly the ones that would pull out in front of you and then go slow, making you slow down...or....drive SLOW in the FAST lane...or... merge onto an expressway at 30 mph when cars are going 60+...or... they turn on red, beep at you for not turning on red...or...stop in the "fast" lane on the streets and then get into the turning lane to turn... or... ok i'll stop....

Many people with HFA/Asperger's drive. They have to make adjustments--but they drive.

I didn't get my license until age 37.

Ya, this is one of the stereotypes about AS that I can not stand. I've been playing racing games since I was little and driving since I was 16. I'm trying to get my Commercial Driver's License and be a truck driver for a living as of now.

I've also ridden mopeds and motorcycles.

I got my license at the "normal" age of 16. I was teased from time to time through college about driving too slow or waiting too long to pull out in traffic.

I am still quite a cautious driver. I have never been pulled over for speeding or anything reckless (only things like the brake lights being out and so forth.)

However, I have done some pretty dumb things driving from time to time, especially if I have been driving a long time or have had a very tiring or stressful day or have been in a lot of traffic. If I get stressed, it does affect my driving decisions. Thankfully, nothing really bad has happened!

I am not a good long-distance driver. I have had to learn how to become a more aggressive driver now that I drive in the city a lot. But, I've been driving for a long time now, so I was ready to learn.

I have been in three accidents, all in college. In the first one, it was the other person's fault. (He pulled into my car while I was stopped, thinking I had pulled out into traffic.) In the other two, I backed into parked cars. In none of these situations were any of the cars going fast, so no one was hurt and minimal damage was done to the cars.

The worst thing about accidents was not knowing what to do. I "knew" what to do because of driver's ed, but I wasn't so good on knowing how to handle myself. I was a nervous wreck and crying so much out of nerves/fear/embarrassment that the cop repeatedly asked me if I wanted him to call my parents who were about an hour away. I was 20 at the time, I think. I was more afraid of my parent's reaction than what happened with the accident, so I said no and finally pulled myself together. I had a friend with me, so that helped.

This reminded me of early driving experiences. I have always had a terrible time judging distance. So, when I first began driving:
- I hit a parked car (on the right side of the vehicle) while parking my parent’s car
- I hit a pole at the drive in’s (on the left side of the vehicle) while parking my parent’s car
- I hit a concrete pillar in a parking garage while backing my parent’s car out of a space

My parent’s car had lots of dents. LOL.

I love to drive and I'm fairly good at it. I was already longing to drive and fascinated by the actions and motion of driving a car even when I was a little kid -- unusual for a girl.

I was the coolest guy in school when I rolled up in my mom's mini-van.