Well I had put it off and today we had to really get started…so first official driving lesson… and the reason I went as well was not just to make sure I was saying the right things to him… because you see we know with Autism, what they hear they remember and remember and remember, so I need to be saying the right thing…. but I also go because I need to make sure he understands what is being asked of him… because language is Thomas’s challenge and too much language and too many words all at once is overwhelming…
So, as she said, “Use the joy stick to adjust the mirrors’, I say… ‘Thomas that is your joystick there… as I point to it’… and when she says, ‘You put that eraser stuck there on the dashboard on the white line’… ‘I say, that is the blue rubber there Thomas stuck to the dashboard in front of you’… and then as she says, ‘Thomas you need to use your indicator now’… I say, ‘Thomas that is your blinker’… Oh ok, I know… and then she says, ‘Just let your foot hover over the brake’… I say, “Thomas just put your foot over the break without touching it’…
And it went on…
And she was fabulous and none of these observations have anything to do with her and her style because she really did an amazing job… these are simply the observations have how Autism can present and how difficult language is and how as parents we have to be so aware of our kids and how they communicate with others and in the world…
And now I drink scotch!
And yes he did a great job despite of how much their was to process and think about and to actual have to drive through traffic lights and not stop and observe, well that was big in itself!
And when Debbie told him he did a good job he said, ‘Yes, well my Mum did tell me I will be a good driver one day!’