Driving with NLD and a Chronic MIgraine Condition

Today, we’ll discuss what it’s like to drive with NLD. have you ever had a car accident that was caused because you couldn’t judge the space between you and the vehicle in front of you well? Did you get your driver’s license later than most teens or peers because of having a learning challenge? Did you feel like it took forever for you to learn how to drive because the car felt like it was separate from your body instead of an extension of it? I have experienced all of these challenges when driving with NLD and a chronic migraine condition. 

 Driving is challenging because it requires multi-tasking, being aware of your surroundings, understanding directions, fast response, and reflexes, and being able to process things quickly. For me, it is challenging because of NLD and my chronic migraine condition. Sometimes I can’t drive because of having a terrible migraine and being nauseous at the same time. I remember that there was one day at work when my dad had to drive me home. This was required because I had a bad migraine and felt lightheaded and nauseous. I hate driving when my head hurts and feel like I could throw up. Consequently, I usually carpool to work so I don’t risk putting myself or another in danger. 

I didn’t learn how to drive until I was 22. Since I went to college in the Bay Area and utilized the public transportation up there I didn’t need to know how to drive until I graduated. It took a while for me to learn because of NLD, challenges with visual-spatial perception, and slower reflexes. For me, the car doesn’t feel like it’s an extension of my body. It feels separate from it. This makes parking, turning the vehicle, and knowing how to respond to unexpected incidents quickly. One time I was driving uphill and my hybrid vehicle stalled on me. So I put my flashers on and turned around as soon as possible. It was okay when I was driving downhill. I took my car to the mechanic and he replaced a loose copper wire that connected my hybrid battery to the electrical motor. That fixed the issue. It was scary having an electric car stall on me twice in one year and only a few months apart. The first time it happened it was because it needed a new hybrid battery. 

Driving is also problematic because it requires you to be aware of your surroundings, has fast reflexes, and multi-tasking at all times. People with NLD have a slower processing speed than neurotypicals do so it’s harder for us to respond quickly when it’s needed with driving. I remember one time I was driving in the rain and I rear-ended the car in front of me because I didn’t break soon enough. She didn’t report it because there was no damage to her vehicle. I’ve been in a few car accidents. But I was fortunate that no one got hurt in them. They taught me to be more cautious, aware of my surroundings, and to try to respond more quickly when needed. 

After my experience with my first two car accidents, I took a break from driving during the early part of the pandemic, because my confidence was completely shaken. I didn’t drive for like a year because I didn’t trust my driving skills anymore. I also didn’t want to have another accident. When I started driving again it felt like I was relearning every part of it for the second time. I didn’t have another accident for three years which was good. When I had my recent one I had an emotional meltdown because I thought I had improved enough to not have another one. I was wrong. So now I park where I can pull out instead of backing up because I don’t want to run into another car while trying to do that. I have learned how to make driving easier for me by doing little things like that. 

I strengthened my reflexes by playing games like jacks, doing jump rope, and bouncing a ball off the wall to catch it quickly. I also practiced stopping quickly when I need to. Learning these skills and exercises helped me to be more alert, aware and responsive when driving. I have also practiced parking by using cones that way if I run over one it won’t damage my car too much. It’s better to do it this way than to run into another car while trying to learn how to park properly. This took me a while to learn. 

Here is an article from The NVLD Project about driving challenges that Megan experienced when she was learning. “I knew how to drive straight, but ask me to turn the wheel or park the car and it quickly became a disaster. By the end of the session, the instructor asked if I needed to write “left” and “right” on my hands. He wasn’t joking either. It was evident my brain wasn’t processing all the different tasks and instructions involved with driving. At the time, I didn’t think having NVLD would impact learning how to drive. I tried and persisted, but no matter how many lessons of both Drivers Ed and time driving with my parents I became too frustrated and gave up.” (https://nvld.org/not-so-sweet-16-nvld-driving/)

I can empathize with Megan because of been discouraged several times with learning how to drive. I did have some lessons from a DMV instructor which helped me learn how to drive better because he taught me in a different way than my parents did. He taught me how to look ahead on the freeway so I could anticipate traffic if needed. He taught me when to start breaking and how to back up straight. He had many years of experience teaching young people how to drive so he knew how to do it well. 

I was able to learn how to park because my parents and brother helped me practice. They were so supportive they would even stand in the parking spot where I was going to park and guide me through the process. I got discouraged several times because it took me forever to get the timing down. I remember one day when I was practicing with my mom I got so discouraged and started crying. She could see I was trying hard to learn it and do it properly but it wasn’t easy for me. She came up with the idea of using cones to help me line up my car between the lines. And to have her guide me so I knew how, when and in what direction my car needed to be straightened. But I didn’t give up. I persisted and eventually got it. 

I would like you to think about what issues arise for you when you are driving. Do you get easily distracted sometimes? Do you easily get ticked off by what another driver does? Or do you not drive because you are anxious about doing it safely, sacred of running into things, or hurting yourself or another individual? I know for me all of those are still true today but I don’t let them stop me from driving. I need to drive because it makes me feel independent and gives me a sense of freedom. Whether you have challenges with driving because of having slower reflexes, processing speed, judging distances between you and another vehicle or trying to multi-task and being aware of your surroundings I and others who have NLD still experience these issues today.