The ADHD-Friendly Exam Compass: 5 patterns for the Dutch practical exam

Long checklists fall apart under pressure. Not because you did not learn them, but because a checklist is the first thing attention drops when a junction arrives faster than expected.

This 7-page mini guide replaces the checklist with five short patterns and a set of if → then cues you can actually reach for while driving.

WHAT IS INSIDE

**The five patterns.** Spiral (see, check, move), Junction (read the whole space), Two = space, Decide → do → adapt, and Error → reset → next. Each one is a cue for attention rather than a fixed sequence, because the exact checks depend on the manoeuvre and the traffic.

**If → then for the moments that overload attention.** Poor visibility, a yellow light, someone taking your priority, a wave or gesture from another driver, zebra crossings, blocked junctions, and cyclists at turns and roundabouts. Short reactions, decided in advance so you do not have to invent them at speed.

**Manoeuvres and stopped moments.** Choosing the place, keeping control, observing throughout, giving way during the manoeuvre, correcting without stalling the traffic, and what to do with the car at a short stop, a long stop and the final exit.

**The start script.** Check-in, the eyesight test, the vehicle questions, setting up the car and the drive itself, so the first ten minutes contain no surprises.

**The reset script.** What to do when it is too much, when you did not understand an instruction, when you missed a turn, and when you have just made a mistake. Four short answers, so recovery does not depend on improvising while flooded.

**Sources and corrections.** Every claim is linked to its source, primarily Rijprocedure B (July 2026) and CBR's own pages. The last page also lists what was corrected during fact-checking, including claims that were removed for lack of evidence.

WHY THIS EXISTS

Most exam material assumes an attention span that holds steady for 35 minutes and a memory that returns a long routine on demand under stress. Plenty of people do not work that way, and being told to "just concentrate" is not instruction.

The patterns here are short on purpose. Under pressure you return to a cue, not to a page.

WHO IT IS FOR

Anyone preparing for the Dutch practical exam who loses the thread when several things happen at once. Written by a neurodivergent author, useful to anyone who finds long checklists slippery, including people with exam anxiety.

FORMAT

• 7-page PDF in English

• Instant download

• Pairs with the full 57-page guide and with the four system sheets

Independent educational material based on Rijprocedure B. It is not an official CBR sequence or publication, and it complements rather than replaces traffic theory, an instructor and the official CBR documents. No guarantee of a passing result.