Keep Your Opinions to Yourself
Perception Skills
Keep Your Opinions to Yourself
“ I LOVE to drive . I grew up on a farm and my dad needed me to be able to drive vehicles and tractors , so I learned from a very young age . I avoid riding as a passenger , though , and I dislike having passengers in my car because they always have opinions about how fast I should be going .”
:: David Finch , author and inspirational speaker , co-founder of Front Range Center for Neurodiversity
Perception is the ability to filter out the unimportant matter from all the messages received by your senses and then apply the important information to the task or situation at hand . When driving , perception of dangerous or hazardous situations is critical as is the ability to recognize potential problems and anticipate what might happen so that one can be ready to react accordingly . The problem is that many autistics have a natural affinity to see every little detail but may not be able to see the general ‘ big picture ’ or need extra time to process all the messages that they are receiving . This is where virtual reality driving simulator programs , role playing and lots of practice may be very useful .
Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functions consist of several mental skills that help the brain organize and act on information it receives . These skills enable people to plan , organize , remember , prioritize , pay attention and both begin and complete tasks . They also help people use information and experiences from the past to solve current problems . As you can imagine , driving requires many executive functioning skills . A driver needs to know how to plan a route and follow it without becoming disoriented . He or she also needs to understand when the car needs gas or service or what to do if things don ’ t go as planned . What if a road is closed ? What if it starts to rain ? Sustained attention is also critical when driving . The average commute is around 20 minutes , and the driver must remain alert the entire time . Many distractions can and WILL compete for the driver ’ s attention – a cell phone ringing , sirens from a police vehicle passing , a passenger in the car singing . For safety ’ s sake , a driver must be able to prioritize and determine that which requires attention and tune out all other distractions as needed .
10
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses