Help....please. :confused:

I am currently looking at directions from MapQuest. I am so frustrated because I have so much trouble reading and understanding this map. [and maps in general.]

I find that I have to cut up the little segments and put them in reverse order. And even then I am [become] so aggravated. Next I draw a route and note the important turns, etc.

Needless to say, this process is so overwhelming...I begin to wonder if I really want to go----and this is actually to my first add support group. [Dr. Lopresti---if you read this, ;) I am really gonna try to make it.]

I just wonder if all this anxiety is worth it. How do you deal with this problem, assuming that it is one for you?

Do you know of online, add-friendly maps? I did a forum search but geeze louize #$%^&* and *sigh*

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :) [besides I have until 6:30---then I have to leave :eek: ]

wish I could help but i can't read them either

Uh........mmm ( chooses words carefully )
I dont know if this is a ADD or human thing;)

yeah--not knowing where we are going--sort of human thing?
I guess that I'll just have to be lost for a little bit longer!!!

I know how you feel. I stink at reading maps. The best thing for me is to have someone actually read the directions to me so I "hear" them from beginning to end as detailed as possible including things to look for on the way. As I am listening I write them down, one step at a time. I feel like a baby sometimes but it really works when I don't know where I am going. I need to have both visual and auditory and then I am ok. Maybe this will help you too. Do you have someone that can help you out? Hope this helps in some way. Good luck :) Dee

Dee---great idea. Thanks for your reply. But, no, I am going on my own.

I wish that I had someone to help or better yet, come with me! [I probably should have taken a test drive during the day.] I am just going for the first time...and of course, since it will be dark.....I will be more frustrated.

The other issue is: The meeting is in a large hospital. I guess that adds more stress to this entire process. :confused:

Can you call them and write down the directions as they tell you? Ask for landmarks and places you'll see on the way. That has worked for me too. I forgot about the test driving thing. I've done that too. That is also a good idea. Try giving them a call before you go if you are really nervous about getting lost. I hope you find it ok. Please post again when and let us know how you did. Take care and good luck. :) Dee

Now I feel bad because I am not sure that I will go--Oh I'm such a chicken. I didn't go last month, either. [same reason] You would have thought that I'd be prepared by now.....talk about procrastination!!!!! [[[[ Hello ]]]]

I do know---at least I remember---someone mentioning something about ADD-Friendly maps. Wish I wrote down the info when I saw it. %-)

Cheap GPS devices are an ADD'ers best friend.

They'll track the route for you, so all you have to do is turn corners when it tells you to.

Toby--thank you. I think that this is something that i will invest in....Never even thought about it. I suppose that this is an aftermarket device that i get installed by my mechanic. I will look into this. I might even conside for my daughters b-day presents. And they can thank you...... ;)

I wish I could help you, but I don't know how, LOL.

Maps are one of the few things in life that I really do understand. I probably have several hundred of them; whenever I go someplace new, the first thing I do is buy a map. I can sit and read a map for hours like some people read a newspaper.
If someone trys to give me verbal directions I make them draw me a map instead. If they try to tell me its easy to find and I don't need one, then I draw one myself, or at least write down the directions.
If I thought there was any way I could explain them via the 'net, I'd try, but I don't think its really possible. It'd be like trying to explain to a non-artist (like me) how to draw a life-like picture.
With that said, it seem to me that this is an excellent opportunity to learn or develop ways to work *with* your ADD rather than against it. So, lets assume that you simply cannot understand a map; lets just give that up. :)
But, you still have to be able to navigate if you're ever going to go some place new.
Toby mentioned GPS; this stands for Global Positioning System and is a navigation system that uses satellites to find your location. Depending on the receiver, it can be accurate anywhere from a few hundered feet down to a fraction of inch.
My Nextel i530 phone has a built-in GPS receiver that is accurate to a hundred feet or so.
Simple hand-held receivers can record a route you have gone, and then reverse the directions so you can find your way back.
More complex systems are available with a receiver that plugs into a laptop computer and CD ROM's of maps. As you drive, it automatically plots your course on the screen, and the most advanced systems even have voice diretions to guide you. One brand is DeLorme. (I've got 8-10 of their state atlas' :D )
Using software, you tell it where you are and where you want to go, and it will guide you as you drive i.e. "Turn left at the next intersection."
Technology is good in a case like this, but I think it would also be good to develop other ways, too. So, the question is--and only you can answer this-- how do you think? I mean, I'm sure there is some way you can develop a way to navigate and find your way about; a logical procedure broken down into simple, easy steps.

Does anyone have any techniques they can share about how they do this?

I don't have any problem with maps either, so it may not be an ADD thing. Or it could be my autistic visual-thinking overriding the ADD.

If you e-mail me the start and finish addies I could go to mapquest and write down the turns for you, if that'll help. I think yahoo maps can give you the turns automatically, too.

Maps, directions, and I don't get along, but I do have a LD in that area, so I don't worry about it much. I finally gave up and declared the situation hopeless, then got a GPS. :D I can have *perfect* directions written down and still be unable to get where I need to go.

What I would do in this particular instance is two things: One, print out the verbal directions from Mapquest or Yahoo! maps and do your best to follow them. Leave very early. I mean, allow at least twice as much time as you think it will take to get there.

Since the meeting is in a hospital, you are kind of lucky. If you get lost, follow the "H" signs. :D

Good luck!

You have all given me ideas...thank you

angelshelper--thank you for your offer. ;)

I wonder if this problem might be related to several issues:

(1) I often get confused between left and right.

(2) It might be a gender related issue. [I've found some interesting material that claims that there's a difference in how men and women read and interpret maps. I found this to be somewhat questionable.]

(3) I do have trouble with anxiety when I am going to a new location.

(4) Probably first and foremost, I need to see it all in my mind before I start to drive. And of course, I can't possibly do this......

And Swamp Donkey-- Thank you for the very informative post.

exeter- thanks. Have you noticed that Mapquest has changed the format. One new feature added is "reverse directions". Hey, maybe one more "direction" to worry about??? :eek:

how bout a mini recorder and when you say "Make left WATCH" wear something (watch related)on your left wrist and maybe a bracele on your right.

It might be a gender related issue. [I've found some interesting material that claims that there's a difference in how men and women read and interpret maps. I found this to be somewhat questionable].

FWIW, Myself and my mother have excellent (spatial perceptions?) navigation skills; my father and my sister are both terrible.

exeter- thanks. Have you noticed that Mapquest has changed the format. One new feature added is "reverse directions". Hey, maybe one more "direction" to worry about??? :eek:
I tended to use Yahoo! maps instead of Mapquest, so I didn't really notice this. Yahoo! maps has always had the "reverse directions" thing, which I find very handy in case of one way streets. :D

I can read a map, but it takes me too much time, so I always do the
"Driving directions" and print out the text portion, not the map. YAHOO! Maps is my fav also.

okay all, thanks, I'm going to check out yahoo! maps. And I am also going to widen my search-- for the perfect add-friendly map--I know it exists! :confused: and I am determined. I think that I will go to another web site. [I have a couple in mind.] If I do find info, I will inform you.

Blue,
This post of yours has been on my mind constantly ever since I first read it. I guess that its because I keep thinking that if I'm so good with maps and navigating, then surely I ought to be able to explain how I do it. So, here goes.

If you live in an area where the land is flat, roads will be laid out running in more or less straight lines and usually they run North/South or East/West.
If the land is hilly, or there are lots of obstacles such as rivers, it get a bit more difficult, but I still group all road into the above directions in that if a road's direction is mostly northerly or southerly, I'll put it in the N/S category.

When I got to a new area (I travelled constantly for ~15 years or more) the first thing I do is get a map and identify the major roads and important natural features like prominent mountains or rivers, or tall buildings if its a town or city--visual landmarks.
For instance, last year I moved from southern Texas to central Tennessee, just south of Nashville. The land here is small chains of small, steep hills with rolling hills inbetween. The main highways are straight, but the other roads are very twisty.
First I made a mental picture of the main highways: Interstate 40 runs East/West through Nashville. I-65 runs North/South, and Franklin is south of Nashville on I-65.
Then I "zoomed in" a bit to Franklin. Highway 96 runs East/West, 31 runs North/South and there is a 4-lane bypass that circles most of the town. Now, Franklin is an old town, and it has roads coming in from all directions converging in the center, and there are many smaller streets that run diagonally Northeast/Southwest, etc. However, at first I avoid these and stay on the N/S or E/W roads, even if they might be a bit longer. This is important! Stay on the big, main roads as often as possible until everything is familiar.
Next I learn the local landmarks--I mean the things that locals refer to when they give directions. Here a common one is a place called 5-points where the roads converge in the center of town. Other ones were simply stores and such that were relevant to me: grocery store, K-Mart, YMCA, bank, etc.
For the first few weeks, I made a point of staying on the main highways, even if there might have been a shorter route. Then, after I started to get a firm mental picture of how the different roads related to each other, I began to work on the smaller cross-routes between the big roads.

People often use the term "not getting lost". I prefer the term "Staying Found". This means constantly paying attention (sorry!) to where one is at each stage in the journey; sort of a connect-the-dots as you go from "here" to "there".

Yahoo maps are great. They tell u to turn left, turn right, and so on. Where as other maps just say North, south, East, West.

I agree though, a GPS system would be a great investment.

I just remembered about a woman who works for AAA [American Automoble Club of America]and who is an expert on map reading. I am going to give her a call, on day, and ask her for ideas. I'm thinking that AAA mght be a good resource.