Blanking on names
Is it just because I'm getting old, or does anyone else have the problem of seeing people you know reasonably well and suddenly drawing a total blank on their name? This has happened to me all my life, but it does seem to be getting worse with age. A corollary to this phenomenon is, for example, greeting them by name and then having the "OMG, did I just say the wrong name?" feeling.
It takes me a while to get people's names matching their faces....I just chalk it up the the Asperger's, as I can't control what sticks in my memory....unless they make a real impression. I have 4 best friends and I was able to remember their names because of certain things: one made a fool of himself in health class back in 7th grade, one has many of the same interests as me, one is a fellow Transformers & Power Rangers fan and the 4th...I fell in love with the moment I met her ( plus she's into anime & video games ). Most others, including some of my other friends, took a while for me to remember names. Kind of make me worried that should I ever happen to find a woman willing to give me a fair chance forgetting her name might guarantee I don't get a 2nd date....
_________________
Ore Sanjou!
that happens to me a lot, though some reason I am good with kids names, though if the kids look similar at all I've been known to mix there names up. Worked in a day care and I would always mix these two boys names up.
_________________
Your Aspie score: 140 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 63 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
Eye test score: 21
AQ test score: 40.0 , AQ-10: 7.0
(RAADS-R): 183.0
I've had the same problem since I was around 12 (as far as I recall, anyway).
Remembering other kids' names at school wasn't too bad, but how much of that was helped by the teacher calling out everyone's name at the start of every class I can't say. Last Christmas I bumped into a couple of guys I haven't seen since I left high school 14 years ago and still remembered them both, but usually when I meet someone their name just doesn't register when they tell me.
I find it easier to read a person's name and remember what they look like, and reading their name on a semi-regular basis seems to make it easier to put the name and face together when I meet them in person again. I always ask for people's surnames when they give me their number as that seems to make it easier to remember, possibly because it's more unique, and every now and then I'll scroll through the names in my phone or my Facebook friends to familiarise myself with them.
If I remember to, I can concentrate on a person's name when I meet them to try and remember it better, but with everything else I'm trying to remember to do when I meet someone new this doesn't happen often.
I used to apologise in advance to people that I have a terrible memory for names and that they shouldn't take it personally (which has happened before and made me paranoid about doing it again, but it isn't a big deal to most reasonable people) until a friend pointed out that it's quite a negative first impression to leave. These days I just say "Oh, you're...errrrrrrrrrrm..." and they'll remind me while I'm struggling to remember.
I'm usually very good with names, but the last couple years I've been getting bad. I will recognize them but the name won't come to me. I think as you age, you've now met thousands of people and it all just becomes a big jumbled mess of names in your brain and you'll only clearly remember the ones that mean something to you.
I often find this, especially if it's somebody I don't know well. However, the worst one is when you see somebody out of context; that is, in a place that you would not normally see them; for some reason, if you are used to seeing a person in one place and see them elsewhere, it can happen that you just don't register their presence and just walk right by ![]()
_________________
I'm Martin, born 1965, diagnosed with AS at 43 (Website)
I am "single and looking" and can be found at PlentyOfFish if you like what you see here
Please note that my OKCupid and OasisDating accounts are disabled and may soon be deleted
Yes, that happens to me, too!
Thank you all for responding - I'm glad to know it's not strictly aging. I don't need to deal with Alzheimer's along with Asperger's.
Prof_Pretorius
Veteran
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Age:57
Posts: 7,953
Location: Hiding in the attic of the Arkham Library
Yes, that happens to me, too!
Thank you all for responding - I'm glad to know it's not strictly aging. I don't need to deal with Alzheimer's along with Asperger's.
I have had this problem my entire adult life. If I know someone from church, and see them at the grocery, I cannot think of their name. Nowadays I'm just glad to see them, and I talk with them until I get a clue. If I don't get a clue I act embarrassed that I can't remember their name.
_________________
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go. ~Theodore Roethke
Don't feel bad, I don't remember names either. In fact, I'm somehow able to remember the image of the person for weeks rather than its specific name. Even odder is that I can remember details that to most people are unable to notice until they've been there several times in advance instead of everything else. Just another facet to the enigma that is my mind.
CockneyRebel
Veteran
Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Age:40
Posts: 92,306
Location: In a quiet and peaceful garden, where gentle Mick Avory-like Sweet Peas grow.
I've had a hard time remembering names, my entire life. I don't have any trouble remembering faces, just names.
_________________
The darling, unworldly Mick Avory with hands like shovels, who wouldn't dare choose to hurt a soul: I'm the cuddly, adorable Kink. Sweet Peas: http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j37/C ... 20Smileys/ Blog: http://ramblingsofasuccessfula
I have always had trouble with names and it seems to be getting worse with age
plus once I get a name down, take the person to a different situation and there are still problems
_________________
?The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society--more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.? - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
"There never was a good war, or a bad peace." - Benjamin Franklin
So have I.
I have been warned: "Forgetting names is the first sign of Alzheimers disease".
No it isn´t. Then I would have had "early signs" for about 48 years.
I don´t seem to remember names well, but I am pretty good at faces.
_________________
Femaline
Special Interest: Beethoven
I envy those who can easily and consistently remember names.
I dread that helpless and embarrassing feeling when I blank on someone's name I feel I SHOULD remember, like a neighbor or a student.
The worst is when they remember MY name and I can't return the favor right away, or at all.
Anyway, I bet many of you already know that the clinical name for face blindness is propopagnosia, and it's common--to some degree--in autism.
_________________
"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas." Marie Curie
ASD: Officially diagnosed.
Last edited by capri0112 on 04 Mar 2014, 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
| Similar Topics | |
|---|---|
| Blanking in classes |
09 May 2012, 4:16 am |
| Mind Blanking Out While Talking to People? |
01 Jun 2011, 8:18 pm |
| Medications: brand names vs generic names |
27 Jan 2011, 9:27 am |
| Best Pet names |
09 Aug 2007, 7:52 pm |
