Why does this happen???

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I know my new hometown really well. I've been coming here (on the bus and in his car) to see my boyfriend since 2015 and I've been living here with him for a year and a half. I know the roads and where to go, etc. But last night my dad took me there from his place, relying on me to know the way and I trusted myself that I do know the way. And suddenly when we got to the town I live at, I was suddenly all confused. The roads all looked the same and I'd forgotten where to go. I was taking my dad all over the town, guessing which road led to where and hesitating. My dad understandably got stressed, and my mum was angry with me because she thought I should know the way by now, and she's right.

Does this happen to anyone else? Do you suddenly get all confused when guiding someone in a car around a town you're supposed to be familiar with? It was very embarrassing. I know a sat-nav would have solved this problem but my dad doesn't have one in his car and this was a last-minute plan. But that's not the point. The point is, does this happen to you? Why does my mind suddenly go blank when being responsible for navigating somebody in a car? Even reading the signs was confusing.

When I was small I learned my way around town by walking or riding my bicycle. As an adult, I learn my way by driving. But when you are a passenger, generally you do not pay attention to where your are going and how to get there. So on your own you are lost. You miss all the detailed clues such as restaurant, schools, hills, railroad tracks that register in your brain as landmarks.

Happens to me too. I could be the passenger in an area many times over and not have a clue how to get there when I'm the driver. Totally normal. (As if!)

The viewpoint of a pedestrian is much different than the viewpoint of a driver.

If you don’t drive, you usually can’t give driving directions.

This is more true in the UK than the US. Because the way to drive somewhere is less likely the way to walk somewhere in the UK.

^^ Yes, that's exactly how I find it, Kraftie. As a non-driver, I am totally hopeless at giving drivers directions, even to places in my own district that I know well. I'm also hopeless at remembering street names - the address they're asking for might only be five minutes from home, but I'd have no idea. If they're a stranger, I quite often politely pretend to be just a visitor myself, because if I try to give directions, I'll probably send them the wrong way up a one-way street, or forget that there's only a through-road for pedestrians en-route.

I have no sense of direction unless I've been on that specific route before, even then I don't know where I am usually in relation to other places I've been. I don't know why it happens. I had one of the first consumer portable Garmin GPS units. I bought it after getting lost in Toronto soon after I had my license. I never had any difficulty getting lost(unless the rare occasion where the GPS gave the wrong directions) again. Now a days I just use Google maps on my smart phone rather than relying on a separate GPS. It eliminates the anxiety of getting lost.

This is a common developmental issue for people with autism. There are many who don't have a problem with it, but also many who do.

This is about stimming but also talks about being disoriented. She mentions how it's in conjunction with the vestibular system - which is a sensory system responsible for providing our brain with information about motion, head position, and spatial orientation.

This is a recurring issue for me. Whenever I have to navigate someone from the passenger seat, I suddenly forget left and right, which road for them to take, etc. Don't fret; you're not the only one. It's a very frustrating problem I have and I always [strongly] recommend whoever is driving to use their GPS.