NLD questions: improving visual perception: driving

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I know there is already a an NLD support thread... but it is so long that I wasn't sure anyone would notice a new comment/question on it.

I have AS but also NLD with very very profound visual/spatial deficits. I find it difficult to interpret even simple graphs...which have been somewhat of a problem for my career as a perpetual university student. Anyways....I would really like to do what I can to improve my visual perception/spatial skills. Does anybody know of any good exercises designed to enhance spatial/visual skills?

Also for those of you that also have NLD and have profound spatial/visual deficits.....do you drive? If so. Was it difficult to learn? I have difficulty with directions and orientation and I am terrified of learning to drive....but very much would like to. Obviously driving requires visual attention and spatial awareness.....so is it dangerous for me to drive?

I'm not sure if I actually have NLD, but I suspect I do. I do have a left sided weakness, and this does affect the way I drive. If I drive a manual it can be difficult to change gears (with right hand drive) and my left foot slips off the clutch easily. If I drive an automatic there's no problem. I do however have difficulty with turning my head around and looking at my blindspot. Parking for me is pretty difficult. Other than that I am ok, I've never met up in an accident, and my driving ability is pretty good. I tend to be cautious and my difficulties have never caused me or anyone one else any dangers.

Some things to try:

Wearing polarised lenses - gives a few more clues for depth perception.

Wearing lenses of different colours or placing coloured cellophane over the page. I have heard people say this can help, and so I guess it's worth trying.

Learn to ride a bike. Get one that is quite heavy and very stable and learn to ride fast downhills and round bends, and to do emergency stops and stuff. Ride a lot - that is good exercise for the eyes.

Then try driving a car somewhere safe, like an airfield or an empty carpark.

Then you decide if you would be safe on the roads with other people, only you can really decide.

I have NLD, and I had a very difficult time learning to drive. However, I was lucky to have parents who worked very hard with me for years on driving. I still run into many problems with driving, but at least I have my license.

My best suggestion would probably be to get some visually/spatially-oriented video games. For instance, as a teenager I was able to hit the ball during baseball in gym class for the first time after spending all of Christmas break obsessively playing "Super Breakout" on my Gameboy (it was a Christmas gift). Another game that I play with my brother is called "FZeroX", and it is a racing car game. You don't have to worry about finding your way around the levels, because you are on a circular track, but you have to take turns at the correct angles, maneuver along narrow roadways, etc. I would not recommend a game that is more open-ended however (like Grand Theft Auto) because you will probably not be able to find your way around the game world and will just get frustrated. Look for games that focus on one specific visual or spatial skill.

One more suggestion for driving: find someone who is good at explaining things in verbal terms, and get them to talk you through different driving tasks. For instance, I could not reason my way through intersections. Like, if you are turning left at a green light, which way should you look for oncoming traffic? Completely unable to do that. If you have trouble with that kind of thing also, get someone to explain it to you verbally in a way you can understand.

well--i was wondering what my poor depth perception was related to. now i know. i ordered a pair of polarized sunglasses today.

driving can be a challenge, but it's also really great for a sense of independence, i find. it can be soothing too, if there isn't a lot of traffic, etc.

maybe the OP could start with things that feel safe---very quiet side streets, etc.--and see how it is to you. i hope things go well with the decision to drive or not drive, etc.

Thanks people! Those are really good suggestions. I never thought about getting polarized lenses to improve depth perception. Also getting someone who could explain seemingly obvious things in clear verbal terms will be important. I hope I can find such a person.

I am planning on learning to drive this coming summer. That will be much safer than learning in the winter in Canada. I keep putting it off because I am very anxious about it....but I am REALLY going to do it this year! I am also hoping that learning to drive will go a long way toward improving my spatial/visual skills. I might also invest in a gameboy...because video games are probably one of the best ways to enhance spatial ability.

I am taking some courses in neuropsychological in university this year, and learning about patients with certain types of brain damage ( more specifically legions to the right parietal lobe) was eye-opening for me (so to speak). I knew NLD was thought to be related to right hemisphere dysfunction....but I was surprised at how much I actually resembled these stroke/brain damage patients. It also made me really upset that I haven't done much to work on my issues. I walk right in to other people in the crowded halls of my school and get very lost even when going places I have been to several times. I also just turned 25 years old and still cannot drive. I have always just taken these things for granted as part of my learning disability...but now I am thinking that I really should actively try and improve on some of my weaknesses. It could potentially improve my quality of life. I wasn't sure how to get started in this regard. Thanks (again) WP people for your suggestions. I will definitely try them out.
=)

Good luck, Daydreamer!

It depends how bad your deficits are.

For you, if you were to start driving, I suggest making sure you have a gps or mapping system with you at all times.

When I was a kid...no joke, I was told to play video games. This was back with the atari 2600 and nintendo days. Old school nintendo games can be very good at training your eyes, but they have to be the right type of games. Asteroids, Missle Command, etc. Anything with moving objects and a single goal.

These days there is a nintendo ds game called flash focus. It may help, it has alot of the exercises I did when I had visual and occupational therapy when I was a kid.


As stupid as the video game idea sounds, this is something that has been proven out. People who have played first person shooters for example can process more visual information and have better peripherial vision than average folks. Part of the reason is it trains the brain for better visual processing. Video games are also part of the occupational therapy for nld. Again certian types are better than others...playing final fantasy is not going to help you. But a driving sim might for example.

Oh it might be good to look into an occupational therapist. If your school has an occupational therapy graduate program on campus, it may be good to talk to professors because there is clinical aspect to OT. I had alot of these issues dealt with when i was younger, but that is because I had proper early intervention.

BTW I do drive.

That is interesting. I do think a driving simulation would be a good idea. I had an OT when I was a child as well....but she mostly worked on co-ordination issues with me. I don't think I was ever given exercises specifically designed to improve visual perception, or told to play video games. I do remember that the psychiatrist who originally diagnosed me suggesting that I read comics. Actually...I am not sure if my university has an occupational therapy program...but some of the professors in the neuropsychology department actually do research on visual perception. I feel a little shy about talking to professors about my disability...but they might just have some really good suggestions...so maybe I will. Those are good ideas. Thank you!

Hello,

I just joined Wrong Planet (after being a longtime admirer and guest) but I found this post by googling "driving" and "visual spatial" and was actually quite pleased to find a post about NLD as the third result.

It is about exactly a year, daydreamer, since you posted that you were determined to get your license despite your fears and your deficits. I would be very interested to hear an update since I am in a very similar position to you.

I also live in the Toronto area, have NLD (exclusively, i.e. not Aspergers) and would also describe myself as having "very very profound visual/spatial deficits." At 19 years old I decided to discontinue the driving lessons that I had paid for and put off driving indefinitely. Today, exactly a month after turning 23 and having taken my first driving lesson in three and a half years, I can remember why I made that decision. I find that I cannot process information quickly enough and was instinctively slowing down the car in order to look both ways through an intersection, because of my inability to multi task. My main motivation for taking up driving again was that, should I want to drive some time in the future I dread the prospect of having to take the G1 written test, that I failed twice the first go-around, all over again. It is set to expire in less than a month.

I have some dim hope that through practice and developing my skills, as well as compensating by being very cautious and not allowing any distractions that I will be able to become a safe and reliable, if not particularly skillful, driver. One point of optimism is that I have become quite good at sports, particularly softball, which requires a high degree of visual-spatial perception that I believe I was able to develop because of life-long dedication and experience that began at the age of four and has persisted every year from that point. Hopefully there is a basic foundation of ability that can be built upon. My brother is also somewhat of a video game nut so intend on trying some highly spatial video games that he plays that I previously have had absolutely no interest in.

Anyway, I would be interested in hearing if you were able to successfully go through with your plan and if anybody else has any insight into the situation.

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One can go to the eye doctor and make sure their eyeglasses/contacts are up-to-date. Often practicing driving will gradually, over time, improve driving skills a little. In terms of temporarily improving visual perception for a few persons a little (not a cure), occasionally a medicine used for ADHD can do that. Recall reading the How To (understand) Hyperactivity book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild which reported that several FDA approved medicines (Tirend, NoDoz, and Bonine) would temporarily improve aspects of vision and motion perception a little (not a cure).

I remember this thread!

Aargh, yes, I think that is one of the most difficult things for us NLDers while driving- how slowly we process visual and spatial information. There is just too much to process and it comes at you too quickly! Well, I wish you good luck, Bonobo. Driving is definitely handy, and I would encourage you to pursue it, no matter how hateful and frustrating it might seem while you are learning (at least, that's how I felt about it while I was learning!).

Thank you for the inspiring words. I will definitely give it everything I've got and just hope not to kill anybody or myself in the process .

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time on WrongPlanet. My son has NLD and is now 20. He was diagnosed when he was 10. I spent alot of my time trying to get people to listen to me that there was something wrong. It took him to be hit by a train while riding his bike home from school for teachers and the school to listen to me. He was diagnosed with NLD soon afterwards. I have to say that at the time NLD was not recognised in Australia so accessing information was near to impossible. I was just greatful to the Psychologist for being progressive enough to look further afield.

The reason why I have joint is because my son has spent the last three years learning to drive. He go is probationary licence which allowed him to drive on his own. He saved to buy a car. The car lasted one day. He had two accidents in the one day and wrote the car off. I thought that he just had alot of bad luck. He was fined for failing to give way and I was just glad that he and everyone else was okay.

Three months later. He was driving us all to University (my daughter, myself and he all attend the same uni) He came to an intersection and drove right though it, hit a car then a tree. My daughter and son were okay but I received several broken ribs as the tree was on my side of the car. Thankfully the people in the other car were all okay.

My question is what do I do? Where do I go to get him help with his visual spatial difficulties? He is now out of school where he was receiving most of his therapy so Does anyone know who I should call?

I realize this thread is over three years old but by polarized lenses do you mean Transition lenses? I just recently got Transitions added to my regular eyeglass lenses to help minimize the amount of light on a sunny day...my eyes hurt without any covering over my glasses.

I eventually abandoned all sports (except biking and jogging) years ago because they were a major source of stress and frustration and I am thinking it may had been a bad idea, overall.