Hello, i am writing for a friend. Her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia 6 months ago. She is lost. I have sent her this site for her to read, which she is. Her son seems to fit into the catatonic category. He follows all the symptoms. My question is can he drive? What have you moms gone thru? Thank you
Hi @Bobbie. Welcome. The question about driving comes up a lot for us.
I think you’re going to have to share a bit more about the specifics of your friend’s son, in regards to his current state of stability and treatment.
I’m pretty sure nobody would encourage a very ill driver, in an acute state, to be allowed on the road, but this illness tends to come in cycles, so there may be periods of time where it’s ok for some.
My son hasn’t driven in 2 years. He’s stable enough, due to medication, but he’s still too paranoid and he has no motivation to go anywhere.
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My son does drive. We took his keys from him when he initially got sick. Once he was treated and no longer psychotic (about 3 weeks) he began driving again. It depends really on how severe the symptoms are. If a person is catatonic I would not think they would be safe enough to drive. I do hope your friend’s son’s condition improves soon.
Welcome to the group, @Bobbie
My daughter is 18 and she doesn’t have her driver’s license yet. She is about to graduate and but has decided not to go to college… at least not yet. She knows it might be good for her to get a job, so she is trying to motivate herself to get her driver’s license this summer. My concern is that she can be anxious when it comes to driving. But she hasn’t tried since the onset of her schizotypal personality disorder. And this is before she started to take buspar for her anxieties. So maybe she will be better when she starts practicing with one of us this summer… we will see.
Thank you for the info. Good to know driving is possible. I will let my friend know and hope for the best. This is very tough, but so happy to find this forum.
FYI-- Some jurisdictions inquire about mental health status when signing up for a license in some countries and US states. Not sure what happens when an illness is reported, but it’s something to be aware of and consider any risks.