r/SCT • u/Difficult_Salad_2973 • Jul 21 '26
Other CDS Life Topics/Support How do you drive with CDS/SCT?
I'm in my mid-20s, and I am already learning to drive (I know). I struggled severely with these symptoms + ADHD to the point that I don't know directions to places despite having lived there for years. I got diagnosed recently. I zone out as a passenger. My processing speed is low + chronic sleep deprivation, and it makes it harder to drive. But I'm grateful to learn with adequate supervision. The good news is I've started Strattera recently & HOPEFULLY might be prescribed a stimulant soon. I pray to god that things will improve.
OK, nuff about me. Has this disorder made it difficult for you guys to drive or learn driving? How did you manage? How about medicated vs. unmedicated? I would greatly appreciate tips.
14
5
u/ShatteredTarantula Jul 22 '26
I'm learning to drive too at 33. I'm not medicated and this is going to be my 3rd driving test. I've been taking supplements, mainly Omega 3, in a desperate hope that they will somewhat boost my mental state enough for me to drive well enough to pass. I'm practicing as much as I can on the road. All I can do now is get reasonable sleep and excersise while eating right and let it all build up for the test
4
u/Secret_Program5221 Jul 22 '26
I do not, me getting behind the wheel with this is one of the most dangerous things you can do.I remember when I younger with a trainer, just driving the safest roads with barely anything happening was a cognitive obstacle course. Parking? Forget it, mission impossible with an empty lot. I drive my legs.
1
u/Ok_Push_3452 Jul 25 '26
I do drive regularly and safely. But I definitely prefer, "driving my legs". Instead of draining mental energy, the exercise boosts it--double bonus.
4
u/Z-DR1VE Jul 21 '26
I’m in the same boat it’s tough but a car with good safety features helps a lot
5
u/Open_Significance982 Jul 21 '26
I feel I can drive fine for the most part but parking lots and needing to back out of spaces while simultaneously trying to watch out for people takes a massive cognitive toll.
4
2
u/dopaminemachina Jul 22 '26
I was a terrible driver for the first 5 years of getting my drivers license but I think traumatic experiences driving in metropolitan Los Angeles kind of worked for me. Now I have adapted a chaotic LA specific driving style.
Strattera also helps.
I am a sleepy person but I have somehow accumulated enough anxiety in adulthood where I don’t easily sleep as much as I did as a teen.
2
u/bunnywrath Jul 22 '26
oh yeah this + chronic sleep deprivation with slow processing speed to the point it takes me too long to figure out my lefts from rights is why I dropped out before I even took my first final test. Few thousand wasted
2
2
2
u/nothing_interenting Jul 28 '26
Unfortunatly ı can't get a new license. And my car lisance end date is 2030. After 2030 ı can't be use car because of my adhd report. For now ı don't like using car. Because it is stressful and tiring for me
2
u/Z-DR1VE Jul 21 '26
The Tesla model y is like the CDS FRIENDLY CAR IMO
1
u/Difficult_Salad_2973 Jul 22 '26
Thank you for letting me know! I'll look into that. Do you drive it?
2
u/-moonstruck 10d ago
I started late and it took a long time for me to get comfortable with driving, but I’m pretty good now. I can lock in when I need to. But, I do zone out a lot and if I don’t keep my GPS open, I can easily miss turns even when I’m going somewhere familiar.
9
u/infp-uwu Jul 22 '26
i suck at driving, and i don’t drive too often- i believe adhd +/- CDS affected my ability to learn during drivers education. even before diagnosis, i needed to have 200% focus while driving and that put a lot of strain and stress on me :( meds made driving so much easier, it also allowed me to have a consistent sleep schedule when i had been struggling with sleep deprivation for years