Learning to Drive with ADHD / ADD
Adults learning to drive with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) have many challenges with inattentiveness and distractibility, and once they have passed their driving test they tend to be at greater risk of having accidents and receiving traffic tickets.
Difficulties relating to ADHD / ADD that affect driving include inattention, impulsivity, risk-taking and poor judgement, any of which can lead to poor reactions to other drivers or changing traffic conditions.
Drivers with ADHD / ADD are particularly at risk from distractions during periods of low stimulus such as long-distance and motorway driving, where high speeds can further raise the chance of accidents.
Distraction can also be found in simple things even on shorter journeys, including changing radio stations, checking make-up, drinking, eating, talking with another person in the car. Parents who drive young children need to be aware of distractions caused by children or from in-vehicle entertainment systems designed for their back seat occupants. When coping with the symptoms of ADD / ADHD, these factors increase the risks of poor driving and can lead to car accidents.
In addition, drivers with ADHD / ADD may also tend to overestimate their driving abilities, and although adults with ADHD / ADD with more years of driving practice have an advantage over younger people driving with ADHD / ADD, the symptoms can cause problems for drivers throughout their driving careers.
Drivers affected by ADHD / ADD need to be especially aware of their own driving abilities as part of the management of their condition, and they can benefit greatly from understanding how their ADHD / ADD symptoms affect their driving.
How 1nfluence Driver Training can help
1nfluence Driver training have many years’ experience of driver training for people with ADHD / ADD and other specific needs.
For people who drive with ADHD / ADD, sometimes it can be straightforward techniques like leaving mobile phones turned off, along with not eating or drinking while driving, which can help to increase attention and prevent accidents. Knowing driving routes beforehand and being familiar with directions to the destination will help limit impulsivity.
Depending on your individual specific symptoms, our driver training may need to focus on specific symptoms of ADHD / ADD, such as controlling negative emotions or improving attention. In addition, taking stimulant medication as part of a treatment plan can greatly improve the driving performance of many adults with ADHD / ADD.
Single lessons are available from £58 per hour.
Click here to return to the Drivers with SEN and Learning Differences page where you can find out more about driving lessons for adults with learning difficulties, or you can find out more about driving lessons for nervous drivers or drivers with high anxiety.
If you’ve got any questions about learning to drive with ADHD / ADD, why not get in touch with Lin at 1nfluence Driver Training on 07780 708 706 or email .
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Testimonial - Fiona Frapwell
Following a move to a more rural location, it was time for me to bite the bullet and learn to drive. I'd had lessons previously and got as far as sitting a test, but that was nearly forty years ago! I didn't just feel rusty when it came to what I knew about driving; it was so far in the past, it was like it had never happened! To say I was nervous about picking it up again was a massive understatement and just the thought of driving made me feel sick with nerves.
Luckily a friend had recommended Lin to me and she immediately put me at my ease from our very first email conversation. Lin has a real knack for making you feel comfortable in lessons whilst challenging you at just the right level. I would finish lessons amazed at what I'd achieved. Lin helped me to focus on the difference that being able to drive would make to me and to my family and keeping that goal in mind really kept me going through the whole process.
If anyone had told me in January this year when I had my first lesson that I'd have passed my test by November, I just wouldn't have believed them. Thankfully, Lin believed in me all the way and I'm eternally grateful to her for that.
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A very well deserved test result for Sally Harper in Sevenoaks today. What a lovely drive!! I'm so proud of you overcoming chronic anxiety to make this possible. Looking forward to meeting up with you after Christmas and hearing of all the places you have managed to get to with Cora. Congratulations..... enjoy your licence xx
#DriveCalm #coaching #relaxation #breathingexercises #breathingtechniques #selftalk #deaf #deafawareness #driving #drivinglessons #drivingtest #ADHD #anxiety #anxietysupport #ASD #confidence #deaf #dyslexia #dyspraxia #eastgrinstead #edenbridge #hurstgreen #neurodiversity #oxted #redhill #sevenoaks #theorytest #tunbridgewells #westerham
Did you know our Driving Mobility Centres offer an assessment to help older drivers update their skills or help with lost confidence.
As vehicles become more sophisticated and roads busier, the need for updating driving skills as we get older becomes more important and there is a clear need to help people maintain safe driving.
It can be particularly useful to have an assessment before applying to renew your licence as the report can be used to advise DVLA as to how safe you are when driving.
Our aim is to help older drivers continue driving safely for as long as they can.
👉 Read more about the assessment here: www.drivingmobility.org.uk/assessments/older-drivers-retirement-from-driving/
Find your local Driving Mobility centre here: www.drivingmobility.org.uk/find-a-centre/
#MyDrivingMobility #OlderDrivers #DrivingAssessments #DrivingSafety #DrivingSafely
A sensational result for Savannah Walton today, passing her driving test in Tunbridge Wells in some style! Savannah overcame many difficulties (Dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ASD, neuralgia, chronic anxiety, a mix of sensory issues and chronic fatigue ) and using many planned strategies to make today the success it was. A truly life changing event for her...... I can't wait to hear about her drives in the coming weeks!
Congratulations Savannah!🚗💨
#DriveCalm #coaching #relaxation #breathingexercises #breathingtechniques #selftalk #deaf #deafawareness #driving #drivinglessons #drivingtest #ADHD #anxiety #anxietysupport #ASD #confidence #deaf #dyslexia #dyspraxia #eastgrinstead #edenbridge #hurstgreen #neurodiversity #oxted #redhill #sevenoaks #theorytest #tunbridgewells #westerham
Member of the Motor Schools Association
IAM Roadsmart Advanced Driver - Aiming to improve driving standards
Member of online site preparing drivers for the UK Driver Theory Test
Member of the Confident Drivers website - Offering additional support for nervous & anxious drivers
Driving Standards Agency
Fully Qualified & Approved Driving Instructor
ROSPA Advanced Driver - Encouraging an interest in road safety, standards and skills
