keepingmesane Report post Posted June 22, 2009 this is gonna sound a bit daft probably as my family think im silly... i was trying to explain to them that i find it very difficult to remember what people look like, and if asked i couldnt describe them. i recognise people i know well when i see them, but in my mind its a fuzzy image, even my mum and dad. i wouldnt be able to describe anyone if there were ever a crime as i can never recall what someone looks like if i only met them briefly and also im rubbish at doing heights weights etc... id be a crimnals dream witness i had a problem the other day where two girls were causing a problem for me, i saw them for approx 20 mins, but 2 minutes after theyd legged it, i couldnt remember what they looked like and couldnt describe them to the neighbour who was trying to help me... the only thing i could recall is that they were teen girls... not helpful really im not too bad in social situations with people i am well acquainted with as i recognise them as soon as i see them, some people i am able to recall quicker that i know them if they are someone i have liked (i seem to have a horrible thing where i get attached to certain people, almost like being a major fan of a star and id do anything to have them chat to me, in the past i never even thought about itm, but it was pointed out to me how embarrising i was being so now i try to avoid it happening) if shown photos of my family or other constants, i can easily pick them out, but anyone else i have trouble remembering so is it just bad memory? or something else? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted June 22, 2009 It's very common for people with ASD to have trouble recognising faces (and can occur if you don't have ASD). It's called prosopagnosia. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley1590 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 just like tally said it connected and linked so much towards AS/ASD facial blindness here some web links more information on this: http://www.prosopagnosia.com/main/pa/index.asp good luck take care XKLX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ian stuart-hamilton Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Impaired facial recognition/ prosopagnosia is very common in ASD and not particularly rare in the rest of the population. Like a lot of such things, there are degrees of impairment. Full blown prosopagnosia - i.e. total inability to recognise faces - is very rare (and usually results from brain damage such as a stroke). What we are talking about here is a relative impairment. If it's of any consolation, I am utterly hopeless at recognising people by their faces. For the record, I have very often passed students and even colleagues by in the streets or in a shop without recognising them. On one very embarrassing occasion, I went to meet my girlfriend of the time off a train and then walked right past her. On the other hand, I have an encyclopedic knowledge of trivia, so I definitely don't have a poor memory per se. Piece of trivia for you - there is a famous (well, famous in Psychology, anyway) case study of a sheep farmer who following a stroke became totally incapable of recognising human faces. On the other hand, he could still recognise his sheep by their facial markings. Before anyone asks what use this is, this proves that mental storage of human and animal faces takes place in different parts of the brain, which, believe it or not, is an important finding in working out how the brain works. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley1590 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 ive pointed to people who i thought i knew called their name or my parents have known when in fact isn't who i think it is i feel so embarrassed i don't know where put my face when it happens but its like my eyes and brain convince myself it is them! my parents make light of it! can be funny but also annoying and irratating! i had trouble recognising how neighbousr at end of drive saying hello and had my glasses on! so i know i have this as part of AS! i feel so stupid and small of getting it so wrong i feel so small and ashamed! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley1590 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 ive pointed to people who i thought i knew called their name or my parents have known when in fact isn't who i think it is i feel so embarrassed i don't know where put my face when it happens but its like my eyes and brain convince myself it is them! my parents make light of it! can be funny but also annoying and irratating! i had trouble recognising how neighbousr at end of drive saying hello and had my glasses on! so i know i have this as part of AS! i feel so stupid and small of getting it so wrong i feel so small and ashamed! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Athena Report post Posted June 22, 2009 So it has a name!!! I have the same problem. I am not diagnosed with ASD, but I have terrible problems, as I cannot recognise faces, it makes it so hard to make friends..... There are a number of Mums at school and they all look exactly the same to me, straightened, blonde hair, jeans, slimmish, and I just cannot tell them apart! It is so embarrassing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
julie1 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 omg i cant belive other people have this problem to, i thought it was just me. i am very bad, i have a great deal of trouble reconizing faces, and what people are wearing, even after i have spoken to them. I have tryed to help my self by looking for something different about the person i am talking to and then find a way of relating it to wear im standing. that sometimes helps. i have also just been honest with people and said if i dont talk to you next time i see you dont take it to heart just say hello and remind me who you are, most people are ok about it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Jordan Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Next month we are announcing the treatment of posopagnosia, metamorphopsia and dysmorphia at the autism society of americas national conference. I have also written an article for "Optometry Today" and it will be published soon. Virtually everyone with a problem can have it addressed, the results are impressive. We treat it through the NHS routinely Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smiley1590 Report post Posted June 23, 2009 you mean BDD,MDD? BDD surely come due to low self-esteem /depression factors that come with AS and having everyday MH probs that come along side that whether small or large factor within that person's life varies from person to person like the condition of AS does itself without complicated MH issues commonly entwined AS's central core problems it present so much more than that when looked close enough it scary and frightening! to think so many other things can keep being added to the diagnosis overlap list in neverending with the spectrum disorders and also MH probs that keep arising from this! i find it weird strange way interesting how so many things fit into one yet make more! i know seems weird way of looking at it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
