Autistic Adults Have Poor Driving Skills: Study

Many autistic adults face difficulties while driving, according to a new study.

The number of people born with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) drastically increased in the recent years.  Many researches linked the behavioral and developmental disorder to mothers' unhealthy lifestyle habits and exposure to dangerous chemicals in the environment. Autistic people have impaired social behavior, motor co-ordination and attention span. Experts from the Drexel University examined the driving ability of adults with autism to identity difficulties and needs that hinder their independence. Past experiments have looked at the driving skills of individuals who have sustained brain injuries and those with multiple sclerosis. But they did not look at driving differences in patients of developmental and behavioral disorders.

The current study surveyed 78 adults with ASD and 94 healthy participants, who were licensed drivers, about their driving experiences. They found majority of ASD adults got their driving licenses at an older age and drove less frequently than those without ASD. These participants usually avoided driving at night or on the highways and committed more number of traffic violations.

The subjects' self-reported driving skills revealed they were unable to gauge and accurately interpret other drivers and pedestrians' behavior. The ASD adults also had difficulties with neuro-cognitive aspects of driving like speed perception and response time.

"We were beginning to see discussion in the research literature that aspects of autism spectrum disorders, such as neuro-cognitive challenges and social recognition difficulties, could make it likely that members of this population would experience significant challenges with driving," said Brian Daly, study author and an assistant professor of psychology in Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences, in a news release.

"But that assumption hadn't been studied in adult drivers, or based on the experiences of the drivers themselves - so these were the questions we explored. It suggests that the challenges these individuals are facing are more global than specific," he added.

The authors believe these findings suggest the extent to which autistic people are neglected in the society. They said that changes in the transport system that enables autistic adults to commute easily can make them less dependent on others.

"This is a first step toward identifying, categorizing and quantifying challenges that may exist in this population. What we find will help determine what needs there may be for interventions, from driver education programs to different kinds of training exposures," said Maria Schultheis, co-author and an associate professor of psychology at Drexel University.

More information is available online in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.