Aspie Drivers: What did you do to prepare?

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I didn't get my license until I was 30. I had been trying since I was 16. I can't tell you how many times I failed that driving test. While I wasn't diagnosed until a few years after I got my license, I knew my entire life that I have serious depth perception and spatial processing issues.

What worked for me was practice, and lots of it. I drove as much as I possibly could with a permit. I found a good driving teacher, and had him coach me. I eventually learned how to compensate for my poor spatial skills. I am really not sure entirely how, but it's probably a mixture of timing, pattern recognition, and just being more aware of the cars around me.

I failed the road test 10 times, no lie, that's the exact number.

When I started taking anti depressants for anxiety I passed the road test.

11th time's the charm

Years ago, I read big sections of the book "Zen Driving." And yes, it was helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005723JX ... 726&sr=8-2

I ran into a tree.

It prepared me for all the car accidents that followed.

I drive only when I have to drive. no driving aimlessly for the pleasure of it, not in this day and age.

By all means give it a good go, but don't feel like you have to drive just because most people do. Better to not drive at all than to drive unsafely after barely passing the test. Personally, I've wanted to drive ever since I was a little kid, I knew I would get good at it and I did. But if you try it and feel like you're not cut out for it then you're probably not.

With that out of the way, I'd say the most important thing is finding a good teacher. Don't be afraid to say "thank you, but I'd like to try someone else" after 1-2 lessons. Not too many people are good at driving and even fewer are good at teaching to drive.

I had a mixed luck with this. The first teacher I got was great, because he really made me feel at ease and communicated in a way that I understood well. Unfortunately, he stopped working before I could go for the test and I had to get someone else. The second guy wasn't a bad driving instructor, as such, but I just didn't get along with him on a personal level. I was constantly feeling a bit frustrated and socially anxious with him, which made driving more difficult than it already was. It was a big mistake to stay with him for as long as I did. I failed the driving test 3 times before eventually taking a long break, finding a third instructor who was even better than my first one and passing comfortably.

The second-most important thing is to get a lot of practice and have the opportunity to experiment a little in a safe place. I didn't have my own car or a friend who could teach me, so I could only practice with a paid instructor. This severely limited the time I had and the things I could do - it was basically up to the instructor. I'm sure I would have passed first time if I could just take some old car out onto a deserted country road and practice as I wished.

I had classes & a simulator type thing at school, and I had private driving lessons, and I still failed the first time 'cause I couldn't parallel park properly 'cause I couldn't see the cones the whole time.
Had a mini melt-down, cracked the windshield of the car, had to pay the deductible.
Passed the second time.
The written was easy for me, but I've always been pretty good at standardized tests.

My advice is to practice the parts you have trouble with until you get them down before you take the driving test.
It's not that hard, eventually it comes easily and becomes something you can do automatically for the most part.
I'm still terrible at parallel parking though.