Learning to Drive With Dyslexia

A staggering 5 to 15 percent of Americans—14.5 to 43.5 million children and adults—have dyslexia, a learning disability that makes it difficult to read, write, and spell, no matter how hard the person tries or how intelligent he or she is.

Having dyslexia can make it a challenge to learn to drive, as a significant part of your driving education will involve reading and understanding. To make things as easy as possible, here are some challenges you might face and some steps you can take to overcome them.

The Major Challenges

Here are some of the particular challenges that learner drivers with dyslexia may face:

• Lowered concentration and focus
• Finding road signs confusing
• Difficulty chatting with a passenger
• Short-term memory difficulties
• Directional difficulties (instructions to turn left or right)
• A slower processing-speed
• Following multiple instructions at once

Don’t worry though! There are plenty of ways around the challenges mentioned above. Here are some strategies to discuss with your driving instructor.

Working With Your Driving Instructor to Overcome Them

• If you find directions like ‘left and right’ confusing, then ask your instructor to say ‘Your side / My side’ instead

• Explain that you do better learning one concept at a time, rather than several

• If you don’t find your driving instructor is catering to your learning style, don’t be afraid to find another one

• If you find road signs confusing, it may be useful to study for and take your theory test while you are having driving lessons

• If you find it difficult to concentrate and focus, ask to take breaks. So, if your lesson is an hour long, you could drive for 3 sessions of 15 minutes and have 3 x 5-minute breaks in between

• Let your instructor know if you find judging distances and spaces difficult so that they can give you more time and space when asking you to brake or manoeuvre

• Ask your instructor to draw concepts for you rather than explaining them verbally. Equally, you could take a pad and paper to your lessons and illustrate any difficult concepts yourself

Expert Training

The Northwest Driving School and Traffic School provides the Las Vegas community with live driving and traffic classes taught by seasoned instructors. All of our driving instructors have passed background checks, each automobile is DMV safety-approved and every member of the Northwest family is committed to providing excellent drivers ed and behind the wheel instruction.

At Northwest, you can expect to find outstanding classes, both on campus and behind the wheel, that are engaging, fact-filled, entertaining and geared toward success. We make no bones about it, we believe that Northwest provides the best driving lessons in Las Vegas, no matter your age or background. We are proud of the fact that 98% of our students pass their test on the first try. Call us at (702) 403-1592 to start your driving adventure with one of our expert instructors.

Written by:
Rich Heinrich
Master Instructor, Emeritus