28/10/2026
🫶🏾 A Different Way of Learning, the Same Right to Be Understood
From this seat, I’ve watched pupils apologise for needing something explained again. I’ve seen the relief on their faces when they realise I’m happy to find another way to explain it.
For a neurodivergent learner, getting into the driving seat may mean bringing years of being misunderstood along for the journey. Before we’ve even started the engine, some are already worrying about getting things wrong, taking too long or being “difficult to teach”.
I want them to feel they can tell me what they need. That conversation is where we begin.
🧩 Seeing the Individual
Autism, ADHD and dyspraxia can influence how someone learns, processes information or coordinates a task, but no two pupils will have exactly the same experience.
One pupil may find a detailed explanation reassuring. Another may need fewer words and time to process them. Some like to watch a demonstration, while others understand more clearly once we’ve broken the task into small steps.
Knowing someone’s diagnosis can be helpful. Getting to know the person helps me turn that understanding into teaching.
🗺️ Making the Lesson Feel Manageable
Knowing what we’re going to work on can take away some of the uncertainty before a lesson begins.
A clear plan, manageable stages and instructions given in good time can give a pupil space to understand what’s happening. If the plan needs to change, explaining why can help them feel involved rather than unsettled.
We can work towards a bigger goal without expecting everything to come together at once.
💬 Finding the Words That Make Sense
Sometimes a pupil needs a different explanation rather than the same words repeated a little louder.
A diagram, a demonstration or a conversation while safely parked may help something finally make sense. I also need to allow time for an instruction to settle before adding another one.
Silence can be useful. It gives someone room to think.
🔁 Allowing Time for Learning
For some pupils, coordinating the controls takes considerable concentration. Others may manage the physical skills comfortably but need more support with planning, judging situations or coping with change.
Repetition gives us opportunities to build understanding and confidence. We can revisit a skill, try another approach and recognise what is improving along the way.
A difficult lesson doesn’t take away the progress already made.
🔉 Understanding Sensory Needs
Traffic noise, bright sunlight, the sound of the indicators and a conversation beside you can become a lot to process while learning something new.
Talking about sensory needs helps us consider what might make the lesson more manageable. That could mean less unnecessary conversation, a quieter setting when introducing a skill or a break somewhere safe.
Something that barely registers with one person may take a great deal of effort for another to manage.
💛 Making Room for Anxiety
Anxiety can affect any learner, including someone who is neurodivergent. Sometimes the worry has been building all morning before they reach the car.
An agreed way to ask for a pause, a calm response and knowing they can say “I’m overwhelmed” without embarrassment can help us work together.
I want pupils to feel able to tell me when they’re struggling. We can do far more with an honest conversation than with someone quietly trying to hide how difficult things feel.
🕰️ Working at a Suitable Pace
Where possible, lesson timing, length and pace can be discussed around the individual’s needs.
Some pupils benefit from shorter periods of focused learning. Others appreciate more time to settle before working on something new. We review what helps as we go, rather than expecting the pupil to fit a fixed approach.
🤝 Recognising When Other Support May Help
Sometimes advice from an occupational therapist or a specialist driving assessment service may be useful. Where vehicle adaptations are being considered, professional assessment can help establish what is appropriate.
Supporting a pupil also means recognising when someone else’s knowledge could help them move forward.
🚗 Keeping the Goal Clear
Being neurodivergent does not automatically prevent someone from becoming a safe, capable driver. Some people will find learning particularly challenging, while others will take to it confidently.
Every pupil still needs to develop the understanding, judgement and skills required to drive safely and independently. Where a condition or medication affects safe driving, the relevant DVLA guidance and medical advice must be followed.
🌱 Why It Means So Much to Me
I love teaching neurodivergent pupils. I love discovering what helps someone learn and watching their confidence grow when an explanation finally makes sense.
Sometimes the moment that stays with me is a junction managed calmly, a question they finally feel comfortable asking, or hearing, “I didn’t think I could do that.”
I know there may have been a great deal of effort behind that moment, much of it invisible to anyone outside the car.
From this seat, I get to see those quiet victories.
Helping someone recognise their own progress is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. 🫶🏾
Sheena Ahmed
Motorvation School of Motoring
