Driving is a difficult task that requires the use of strong executive functions , including many of the skills that challenge teens and young adults with ADHD and LD. These include impulsivity control; attention to detail and big-picture thinking; sustained focus and the ability to shift focus; cognitive and emotional self-control; and well-developed motor skills.
If those challenges describe your driver-to-be, there are several ways you can help your teen be prepared for the road ahead.
It begins with strong parent-child relationships, explains Annie Artiga Garner, an expert on the impact of ADHD on driving. Kids in families where there is good communication and strong adult role models become better drivers, says Garner. When parents take responsibility and acknowledge their strengths and challenges, teens will follow suit. And if they can understand and confront their own needs, they will be able to develop and implement helpful approaches for safe driving.
Strategies & Tools to Ensure Safety
Following are Garner’s suggestions to help your teen improve their driving skills and avoid driving distractions and mishaps.
- Use appropriate medication properly. Stimulant meds are often helpful for impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention. However, meds are only effective while they are active in your teen’s system. If your teen has to drive to and from school, for example, wake them up early so their ADHD medication will have enough time to kick in before they get behind the wheel. Likewise, time a second dose at the end of the school day so it will also be effective for their drive home.
- Set a good example early. Model road safety as you drive your teen around. Discuss the importance of paying attention and the things you do that focus on safety: I’m going to put on my seatbelt, turn off my cellphone, put it away, and check my three mirrors and the gas gauge. If a cellphone is an option, install a hands-free bracket and make sure phone access to the car’s audio system is working.
- Practice what to do in high-stress emergencies. Make a checklist of “What to do when” and review it together. Items to include are system alerts (e.g., low tire pressure, overheating engine, etc.) and what to do if they get a flat tire, break down, are involved in a fender-bender or more serious accident, are pulled over by the police, or get lost. Make sure your teen is insured under up-to-date insurance and towing policies and that they know where all essential documents are kept.
- Break down driving skills. Start with the basics, during the daytime, in clear weather conditions and uncongested environments, and work towards more complex situations: driving through intersections; monitoring blind spots; navigating signs; managing speed; anticipating others’ behavior; planning routes; following directions; detecting potential hazards and increasing awareness of risky events; estimating distances on intermediate roads and highways; entering and exiting highways; changing lanes and passing on side roads and highways; parking in a lot; entering and exiting lots and garages; right of way; and what to do in emergencies. In addition to practicing (and over-practicing) behind the wheel, watch videos together.
- Address visual inattention. Teens with ADHD have high rates of visual inattention. Everyone looks away from the road to perform secondary tasks, such as checking mirrors, radios, and phones. But taking eyes off the road for more than two seconds leads to more lane departures and unsafe driving episodes. Discuss your challenges and how you tackle them: I have a hard time changing radio stations while I’m driving. I lose my visual attention if I look down or move my hand off the steering wheel to the knob. So, before I pull away from the curb, I pre-set my favorite radio stations and music sources, make sure everything is working properly, and only then do I pull onto the road. (To learn more about addressing visual inattention, see the program, Focused Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL+) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Center for ADHD. Co-developed by Garner, it trains teen drivers to reduce extended eye glances.)
- Focus on “engaging” driving environments. The more your teen is engaged, the safer they will be (e.g., driving in “stop & go” traffic; on city streets with traffic lights and stop signs; using a manual transmission car, etc.).
- Set clear limits. Consider developing short-term (e.g., six months) driving contracts articulating family rules and expectations (no driving with friends or siblings, on highways with speed limits over 55 mph, at night, in rain or snow; no talking on the phone with friends about things that might trigger emotional feelings or having phone conversations where you’re going to need to take notes). Garner recommends working with a therapist, pediatrician, or certified ADHD driving instructor so you’re not seen as the bad guy.
- Access technical tools with safety reports. Numerous apps are available to track/monitor location and driving behavior (average speed, phone use, hard acceleration/breaking); alert you in case of accidents; and request emergency assistance.
- Practice, practice, practice. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia created a Teen Driving Plan with tips for effectively supervising practice drives to establish a toolbox of skills for driving in a range of situations and help your teen develop autonomy and self-evaluation skills.
Turning 16 does not automatically confer driving privileges on your teen. Many families postpone that privilege until they’re confident their child is capable of handling the responsibility—typically that comes later for teens with ADHD (age 20.5) compared to their peers without ADHD (age 17.5). As you consider your teen’s readiness, ask yourself the following questions: If you feel less than confident about your 16-year-old’s readiness for full licensure, but believe they can begin the process, check your state’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) system and requirements and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Comprehensive GDL requirements:
This article is based on an ADDitude webinar, Teen Driving Rules: ADHD Guardrails to Avoid Distractions and Accidents, by Annie Artiga Garner, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, St Louis University, and a licensed clinical psychologist in Missouri. Eve Kessler, Esq., a former criminal appellate attorney, is President of SPED*NET, and a Contributing Editor of Smart Kids.