LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
R ecently , my 16-year-old autistic son Jacob accomplished a huge milestone ... taking an online driving course so that he could get his learner ’ s permit . To be perfectly honest , he was in no rush to do this , but I gently nudged him to take the course . My thinking was that if he got his permit and chose to continue afterwards to get his real driver ’ s license , great . If not , well , that would be great too , for at least he would have an official form of identification and some knowledge about traffic safety . He eventually agreed and signed up for the course .
One of the biggest surprises to us both was how difficult the course was for him . His peers referred to it as an easy A , yet for my boy , it was anything but . But he drudged through , and yes , I use the word drudge because that paints a very vivid picture of what it was like for him . There were all of these exceptions to the rules that , excuse the pun , drove him crazy . Not to mention , the pictures of crashes and cars on fire were enough to keep even me from wanting to drive again . it was even more thrilling to see him overcome his own fears and tackle this new accomplishment . And accomplish he did . He passed the course and received his learner ’ s permit ! Will Jacob continue to learn to drive a car ? I think he will … eventually . For now , he still needs to practice some of the skills that he will need in order to be successful doing so . If you are not sure what skills those might be , then you will want to read our article titled LEARNING TO DRIVE in this issue . This piece paints a very realistic picture of some of the challenges that autistic individuals may face when it comes to driving and offers some personal insights from autistic adults who have been there .
The theme of this issue is “ shining a light on some very hot topics ,” which is exactly why we included the editorial THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING ABOUT SEX . We know this may not be the most comfortable subject , but it is perhaps one of the most important ! Whether you are the
Even when Jacob was just a little baby he enjoyed being behind the wheel .
While Jacob started off anxious and frustrated , eventually , I began to see something else ... a hint of excitement ! He started asking me to physically show him where things were located in the car . As he sat behind the wheel of my vehicle , I saw a real sense of independence come over him . Sure , it was sad to see my baby growing up , but
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