Driving misdirection

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So my boyfriend and I were going to go to the local liquor store to get some more gin for my evening gin and tonic.

Me: So how do we get there again?

Him: What??? We go there about every two weeks, boobullah!

Me: Well, you've never shown me on a map.

Him: How does that make any difference?

Me: Because then I know where it is.

Him: How can you know where something is by looking at place on a map when you can't find it after driving there nearabout every two weeks for six months?

Me: Because the picture shows me where it is.

Him: But I show you where it is every two effing weeks!

Me: No, you just tell me, "turn left here, right here, go straight here, change lanes here."

Him: I call out the names of the roads! You can see the signs and landmarks where we turn!

Me: Look, one glance at a map, and I'll never forget again. I promise.

Him: You're crazy.

Me: No, I'm weird. We have known this.

Has anyone else had this conversation?

Not exactly, but my wife (NT) has trouble with directions & maps. And she's in the genius IQ range, and has advanced degrees. So it's just a quirk that some people have, I guess. I'm high-functioning autistic, and I have a map "built into" my brain. I don't even understand the concept of being lost. I have gone on hikes in the woods, where people often get lost, but I can't imagine that. Get stuck in a ravine maybe, or fall off a cliff, but not get lost or walk unknowingly in big circles. I've driven thousands of miles across the USA, and never felt lost. I have even caught Google Maps in some egregious errors in route planning. Somehow I always "know" where I am, even if I've never been there. I can't explain it otherwise. I even had a good challenge a couple weeks ago, when I took my wife up to a small town in Central California for a horseback riding trip with her friends. The place was REALLY in the middle of nowhere, and there were virtually no street signs and no lighting whatsoever (and it was dark when we got to the general area). After a couple of false turns, which I somehow realized quickly "didn't feel right", we got there. It was about 40 miles of unpaved and unmarked roads, with several turns off onto farm access roads, with only landmarks such as rusty water tanks, or an abandoned tractor, etc. She stayed there for 3 nights, and then I went back up to bring her home. Not a single hesitation nor any wrong turns on the return trip. Not bragging, as I have PLENTY of deficits elsewhere... Just pointing out how senses of direction can vary, and not necessarily have any relation to intelligence or mental abilities in general.

Charles

Boobullah. Aww.

I'm actually the opposite. I can't find my way using maps. I can only remember how to get somewhere by seeing it in first-person view.

Whereas my main problem is literally with auditory processing and remembering the order things are in. I literally cannot learn a place by taking spoken directions. One glance at a map, though, and I know every major intersection in a city. It's like my version of counting toothpicks.

I'm the same way. Until I got my Droid with 3G and Google Maps, I'd get lost ALL the time - even going places that I'd ridden to many times.

Oh, I can't do spoken directions either. Literally, the only way I can know how to get there is by driving it enough times to remember how it looks to get there. And then if something along the way changes (new signs, building painted), I get totally confused. But, having someone in the car telling me where to turn is different too. I don't remember it that way either, so I guess I'm not exactly opposite. I just can't relate maps to first-person view.

Having a GPS system that displays both position and direction helps with this. Once you get used to that, visualizing yourself on a regular map becomes a lot easier.

Someone else has told me that. I probably should give in and get one.

I believe it's called topical agnosia. Alot of aspies have it; apparently Einstein had some version of this.

I have also had similar conversations. Usually I just say something along the lines of "I don't think like everyone else. I can only learn if I figure it out myself, not if you tell me or if I see you drive there." If I really want to get to know the person and I trust him, then I'll just disclose that I have AS and aspies sometimes have a terrible sense of direction.

My NT spouse (wife) is also directionally challenged. She can tell the difference between right and left but that is as far as it goes.

ruveyn