Learning to drive can present extra challenges to some, but not all, teens with dyslexia. Usually, by the time your child has reached high school, his reading skills will be adequate for purposes of taking driver's ed and passing a typical written test to get a permit. If your teen has problems, it is more likely to be with controlling the vehicle or passing the behind-the-wheel test. One problem your child may face is simply the process of motor and perceptual coordination; driving essentially involves a heightened level of awareness and the need to perform several visual and motor tasks at once. For most people, this quickly becomes second nature with practice. For some individuals with dyslexia, it is difficult to reach this point of automatic response for the same reason that other skills involving motor coordination and balance may be difficult to master. If your child had a hard time learning to tie his shoes or ride a bicycle, he may experience the same sort of difficulties with driving. Your teenager can eventually learn to drive comfortably, but it may take longer than average to get to that point. If your child has difficulties learning to drive, you may find it worthwhile to pay for extra lessons from a professional driving school.

Another common problem is communication between parent and teen — you tell your son to watch out for oncoming traffic on the left, and he looks over to the right. If your teen has difficulty with remembering left from right, you need to simply avoid using those words in giving instructions — say “driver's side” and “passenger's side” instead. Your teen may also have a slow response time to verbal commands, again a function of his language processing issues; be sure that you give directions while he is driving well in advance. Your teen may also find it very difficult to use the rearview mirror, which can intensify the directional confusion that is part of dyslexia. These issues can also cause problems when your teen takes the behind-the-wheel test.

If your child is a very slow reader, this could also create problems. Your teen will recognize most traffic signs by their shape and color, and will have no difficulty understanding signs with pictures and symbols like arrows. But she may not read quickly enough to recognize the name of a street or freeway exit before she has passed the sign; if giving directions, you should try to give other visual clues besides the name of the street.

Finally, some — but not all — individuals with dyslexia have a terrible sense of direction and easily get lost or disoriented while driving. Over time, your teen will develop coping strategies, but there may be some interesting adventures along the way.

You should not assume in advance that your teen will have problems learning to drive. Although the problems mentioned earlier affect some individuals, many teens with dyslexia have no problem at all learning to drive and in fact they can be extremely skilled drivers. For some, the strong spatial-reasoning skills that accompany dyslexia give rise to a greater sense of awareness of the vehicle's position in relation to other cars, as well as stronger peripheral vision. Getting a license is also a great ego-booster for a teenager. If your teen is one of the first of his peers to get a license, which might happen if your teen was ever held back a year in school, the license is an important status symbol. Because driving is so important in the lives of many teenagers, getting a license can feel like a great accomplishment. Additionally, the license allows your teen more independence, and may give him the means or the motivation to take on an after-school job or volunteer activities, which can also lead to greater self-confidence.