Face Forgetfulness?

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Just wondering other peoples experiences with this.

I am completely useless for remembering people's names, or placing names with faces, or in remembering people by their faces. I don't think it is mind blindness as described in various diagnosis lists. But even people I know well, if I am not reminded of what they look like maybe once every two weeks or so, i tend to forget what they look like. For instance I find it hard to recall what people I knew from school or past jobs look like. If I might see a photograph of them I'll remember that I know the face but I find it really hard to place that face... i.e. associate it with whatever knowledge I might have about that person.

Question is, is this just absentmindedness, or is something to do with autism? I only really mention it because it is a problem. Especially in work and dealing with clients etc...

And even if it isn't an autistic thing, does anyone (who has similar troubles) have any ideas on how to over come this? I have thought about photographing everyone I know and writing their names on the photograph (a la Memento) but that is a little too conspicuous for my liking and I would prefer to avoid it.

i think it is related. a lot of people here have posted similar concerns. if i haven't seen someone for a long time or have only met them a couple of times i usually wait for a sign to confirm their identity before i go and say hi just to make sure.

once in middle school i walked up behind a girl i knew well and pulled her hair as a greeting. it wasn't her.

It is related. A lot of people with ASDs (myself included) have prosopagnosia (fancy word for 'face blindness') and also topographical disorientation.

http://www.faceblind.org/research/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia

http://www.prosopagnosia.com/

http://topographicagnosia.blogspot.com/

Yes, I have this trouble too. People I have only met once or twice before & people that I haven't seen for a long time & film actors / celebrities. I'm not bothered about the celebrities, but it would be a bit less embarrassing if I could remember the 'name-face' link with people that i meet infrequently. People are often saying

.....ah, er... you don't remember me, do you... it's [persons name] ... we met at [some place]

I think that unless i have some 'history' with the person (ie. i've seen them a few times before, or we've done something together) then I just don't remember them. And I think that I also do not try to remember them if I don't think that I'll see them again.
(the thing is, you never know ... you might just see them again, even if you can't think how)


I was recently at a party where I met a lot of new people, and was introduced to them.
After the party I was asked what I thought of some of the people. I could remember none of their names, and could not put any names to faces.... however... i was able to identify the people quite easily by what they were wearing... ie, the colour of somebodys dress, the hair-style, or the pattern on the trousers.


It also doesn't help if I meet them somewhere I don't usually see them. Maybe I use the place that I met the person to remember the person (name/face).

...but then maybe everyone does that (to a certain extent, at least)

I think this is more prevalent among AS people too. I have a hard time recognizing most people when they are 'out of context'.

Yeah.
It causes me alot of anxiety and embarrasment.
Long story...it drives me nuts.

I don't have this problem.

Tim

I have read through that literature before a few times. I am having trouble declaring that that is the problem because I don't have problems with recognising people by their faces per se. My problem is more that over time I just forget what people look like, and I can not recall people's faces vividly if I have not seen them in the past 24 hours etc... And it tends to be only after a month or more that I completely lose the ability to place a name with a face.

Of course, making that association in the first place generally takes a long long time too, and I would echo Davidufo's comments.

All I am saying is that it just "doesn't quite seem to fit" prosopagnosia.

I'm very good at remembering faces but putting names to those faces often baffles me horribly.

I get what you mean. Perhaps it could be a visual memory or visual processing issue rather than prosopagnosia? (Just a suggestion)

I took that recognition memory test that was posted on another current thread. I scored 94% in facial recognition memory, yet I can't put a name to a face to save my life. I think it's something to do with my sensory overload in public places and lack of ability to connect with people enough to put all that stuff together in a social situation. I just go blank in those situations, and I think it may be more related to the "environment" in which these incidents occur than to my cognitive function overall.

yeah, i'm awful about that. i remember something about them - their glasses, their hair, anything i can to help identify them. i can have nice, lengthy conversations with someone in the morning and not know who they are (unless it's someone with whom i am acquainted) if they come up to me that afternoon. it's rather embarrassing.

i never forget a voice, though.

I usually can't remember people's faces because I rarely look at their faces! Okay, so I exaggerated a bit there, I look at their faces, but don't pay that much attention to them. A face that doesn't have any 'markers' that stand out; crooked nose, excessively large beauty spots etc. doesn't really make that strong an impression on my memory.

I can never remember names either. The person usually has to repeat it quite a few times until I associate it with them. As if it wasn't already awkward enough to talk to someone, talking to a person whose name you don't know is even more!

I usually recognise people by their voices and not their faces or names, only this is hardly practical. It's rather embarrassing to refer to someone as "the one with the sleep-inducing voice".

yeah, you described me very well

after four years out of high-school, we had a reunion. before going to meet them, i took a photo with all of us, the list of our names and tried to link them together. only then i felt ok going there to meet them. when i close my eyes, i cannot describe my own family, i just don't see them. it happened many times, that i had a chat with someone i knew some time ago and at the end of the conversation i had to ask what his/her name was. they felt a bit offended, sometimes.

there is one thing that helps, though. every single time when i meet someone, i don't just say simple 'hi', but always put the name behind, 'hi, peter'. so every time i meet someone i recall the name and it helps to remember it. and no one finds that strange, it sounds perfectly natural.

I can remember voices and can usually recognize that Ive seen someone before but I usually have no idea where or when much less their names.

Ive gotten used to it though and try to avoid using names when possible.. for most conversations you don't need to know that or even who they are just respond in kind to what they say.. and people who are around me a lot understand my difficulties and are used to being called "hey you"

I still feel bad about having to ask someone their name when I see them several times a week and need to know it though.. and sometimes they do get offended.

Also as another has stated I have no idea what my family members look like.. Id recognize their voices but couldn't describe them at all.

It is much the same for me. Until I have seen a particular person many times, I won't remember the face. Voices are another matter. One hearing is usually enough. I believe this may have something to do with the way in which I think.

<shameless plug> I would like to see your input on this issue. Would you mind taking a look at the thread entitled "how do you think?"