As teenagers, by the time we hit 16, all we can think about is getting our license and hitting the open road. We have the resources at our fingertips to figure out everything from choosing where to go to driving school, to finding parking lots to practice in. However, for autistic individuals, knowing where to start and how to find these resources, makes driving a challenge. Just like driving laws, the resources available to autistic individuals vary from state to state. Many states do not have the resources, let alone driving schools that offer programs geared toward teaching individuals with autism. This is why we have partnered with Driving with Autism. With this program, it is our hope to overcome any fears the driver or parents may have when navigating through this process. Allowing everyone equal access to programs like this one can help increase the quality of life by giving drivers a sense of autonomy, accomplishment, and responsibility.

Driving with Autism is a driver readiness virtual program that helps autistic individuals take the first steps to drive. While not a driving school, Driving with Autism offers a seven-part webinar series that will help teach the expectations of driving. They break down various driving concepts into sizable sessions, and cover topics that driving schools do not cover, like sensory needs, motivation, and police interactions. The program also assists autistic individuals by vetting and providing local resources upon completing the webinar series.

To get started, check out the package choices and each of their benefits. Each session comes with downloadable worksheets that allow people to transfer the knowledge from the series into their actual driving. Driving with Autism also offers jump-start sheets that contain state information for each state. Each package offers lots of value no matter where you are on your driver's journey.

In addition to the seven-part webinar, Driving with Autism also offers the following resources:

• Free to download the 24-page ebook that covers driving and serves as a preview of what to expect for our webinar series. It covers a majority of the driving journey from getting started, to the road test, and everything in between.
• Free blog posts that go over driving concepts in the context of autism are updated regularly. We cover topics like driving in rainstorms, snow driving, and much more.
• Free 15-minute overview meeting for parents and individuals to get an in-depth overview of Driving with Autism from Andrew Arboe, the founder.
• Partnership Options for driving schools. We connect with driving schools that want to improve their services to the autism community. We have four partnership options that driving schools can choose from like a referral-based partnership and a monthly services type option. Then, they become certified partners of Driving with Autism. More information about this service will become available during late summer on Driving with Autism’s social media pages.
• Free virtual overview presentations that autism/school organizations set up and where we speak about our story and general services.

We’ve partnered with Driving with Autism to help offer a mix of services and resources for anyone. We want people to know that they do not have to be alone in figuring out driving. Driving with Autism is a resource that is filling in a huge gap in driving accessibility that has unfortunately been left completely neglected.

You can find Driving with Autism on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Finally, you can find the website below.

Autism Driving Prep Education Classes | Purchase Training

If you need help finding auto insurance coverage as an autistic driver we can help. We can also help with resources for yourself or others, please contact Kovalev Insurance today and we’ll be happy to introduce you to a team of specialists that will be suited to help. We provide all sorts of driving resources and auto insurance to teens and families in Newton, Needham, Wellesley, and all of Massachusetts.