Podcast CPD (Special Needs Driver Training)

My favourite driving instructor CPD is podcasts and related to that my top 2 are The SENDcast (special needs / neurodiversity) and The Instructor Podcast.

Comprehensive Driving Course : SEN

I offer a comprehensive driving course for pupils with special needs, learning difficulties, anxiety or those who experience difficulties with the process of learning to drive.

The course is a detailed preparation for driving for life, not a quick rush to the driving test. The experience includes extensive city driving, multi-storey car parks, night driving and hundreds of miles of dual carriageways and motorways.

Driving Test Passed! :)

Great week so far, another driving test passed and the eNiro is managing a solid ~300 miles per charge in the current conditions. Won’t be long before my eNiro reaches 2 years/50,000 miles and it’s still as good as new, I’ve had nothing but pure reliability (and fun) from 5 years of EVs.

Gavriella Morris driving course review. :)

“I wanted to start learning to drive whilst at university and stumbled across Rob’s page on google. I could not be happier that I did because he has made driving such a pleasurable learning experience! He was calm, patient, positive and supportive throughout every single lesson and it was a pleasure to be instructed by such a knowledgeable teacher! He was flexible to my busy schedule and if I was away during summer he would quickly help me to get my driving confidence back. I always looked forward to my driving lessons, a rarity amongst my friends and would highly recommend Rob to everyone for an enjoyable learning experience!”

Gavriella Morris, Lenton, Nottingham

Driving is more about Psychology than Systems

Driving is more about Psychology than Systems

For any other driving instructors interested in teaching those with learning difficulties, special needs or generally just trying to understand how to teach such a wide variation in the learning abilities of the individuals (that was a long sentence) I highly recommend John Brown’s ‘Driving is more about Psychology than Systems’. A superbly insightful book that I read last year during a wonderful holiday in Cley Windmill, a book which has now changed my teaching and my pupil base. 

Learning Difficulties / Special Needs

http://www.appledriving.co.uk/Special_Needs.html

It’s important to understand that each individual learns differently. Applying the same teaching technique to everyone doesn’t work. The teacher needs to be creative in finding a teaching or coaching method that works for the individual pupil.

I began to take an interest in more challenging pupils in 2011, deliberately taking on those who had known difficulties, or were highly unconfident or who had previously struggled with learning to drive and were looking to have another go at it. I found myself learning as much as them as I was trying to ‘learn how they learnt’. Some of these pupils previously had bad experiences learning to drive, a few having been told by past instructors or family that they simply “didn’t have what it takes”.

The problem is not the pupil, it is often the teacher who doesn’t understand the pupil and who’s normal ‘one size fits all’ techniques are failing. This leads to frustration and ultimately the pupil being abandoned.

The challenge is for the driving instructor to really understand the pupil. Driving is a huge skill, incorporating within it many skills (physical co-ordination, memory skills, information processing, awareness and planning, judgement etc….). Those with learning difficulties may find that problems arise as driving tends to bring out any known or hidden issues and this leads to frustration especially if they feel compared to friends and family who got through the process relatively problem free.

Having gained some practical experience with pupils who had known or hidden difficulties I spent a year studying various books and articles on special and specific needs. Most notably I studied John Browns ‘Driving Includes U’ series of books from which I learnt a lot. Following various forum debates and a small course I attended I decided this was the aspect of driving tuition I was most interested in as it gave me a real challenge, not to mention the huge sense of achievement when it all begins to come together!

It’s important not to label people and fit them into a box, just because one person has dyslexia doesn’t mean they’ll learn the same as another person with dyslexia. The teacher doesn’t necessarily need to know the issue (although it can help), they just need to be creative and patient in finding a learning style which works for the individual. The course and teaching will need to be adjusted to suit the pupils needs, often presented in bite size chunks and an overall acceptance that it might take longer than normal. Driving is an essential skill nowadays so it is important to creatively find a way for the pupil to become a safe driver, not to abandon them because they are struggling or difficult to teach.

It’s still quite new to me and will be for years to come, but my diary is gradually becoming more full with pupils with dyslexia, dyspraxia and various other learning difficulties and struggles. It requires understanding, extreme patience and determination. Most of all, it should be as fun as possible – enjoying something will promote learning. I continue to study learning difficulties and hope to attend more courses in the future, but of most value to me is the practical experience I gain from teaching such pupils. If you want to chat feel free to ring me, if you can’t get a hold of me it just means I’m teaching. Leave me a message and I will get back to you.

🙂 

Rob Cooling