The ride was a little jerky at first, and the row of mailboxes seemed to come out of nowhere as Zac Zies, 16, navigated along a real road -- not like the empty parking lot where he practiced earlier. "We want all your neighbors to be able to get their mail tomorrow," said instructor Paula Sanford in a cheery tone.

But just an hour later, the Perrysburg teenager seemed more comfortable as he drove the silver Ford Taurus with special hand controls to stop and go, instead of standard acceleration and brake pedals.

"He's doing fine," said Ms. Sanford, who teaches people with special needs how to drive at Northwestern Ohio Driver Training School, Inc. "I think he's coming along really well."

For Zac, life is about driving lessons, playing video games with his friends, and building a computer from scratch -- the standard teenage-boy fare.

But, each day is also full of challenges as it becomes more difficult for Zac to get around.

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