lb: //Would jj benefit from a couple of driving lessons in an automatic to help her make up her mind?//
Yes, probably, but there is very little to learn, it's more a question of un-learning.
The thing that many people find disconcerting, & only takes a couple of minutes to understand, is the 'creep' aspect. That is, when you engage 'drive' or 'reverse' with the selector, your foot must be holding down on the brake pedal, as you release it, the car will move slowly on it's own, backwards or forwards depending which you selected. This is useful when manoeuvring in a confined space. You only need to press back on the brake at any time to stop this - YOU are always in control.
Easy-peasy !