Short term memory loss? Forgetfulness? What is this...?

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I'd blame it on age but I've been that way all my life. I think with me the problem is I can only focus on one thing at a time, someone talks to me, or I get distracted...and bam...I loose whatever thought process was in there first. I'm pretty much fine at home, it's normally only when I go out in public that my brain goes on strike.

I have had a problem with short term memory, though I think that I figured out things, I constantly question what I am doing, leave everything I need in one pile so I will grab it. I also check myself that I have everything at different intervals, so that I have not forgoten anything, If I set a new objective for myself I automaticaly check all my pockets. I think that this has been one of the problems that has hinderd me in learning and I have mentaly came up with different remembering stratagies. What I try to do is sumerise things into small parts in my head, such as remembering the concept of an equition instead of the equition, I also have what I describe as spider webs that I link small pieces of information together. What I do is that I mentaly strengthen these threads, and when I think of a subject I get all these links of small pieces which makes up a bigger piece. This can be good, but I often have problem of things of no importance, like I yesterday I thought of bacon and I get some destracting memories that are of no importance and I infact have problem distinquishing if they are memories. Well I think these mental strings can help as ou can prepare your self that when you think bus you automaticaly get the idea to check your pockets.

This has been an interesting journey. I've now read the wikipedia description of ADHD, and am a bit surprised I was never considered ADHD. Perhaps I was, but didn't know it...? My brother was considered ADD by some of his teachers, though never formally hauled in for dx.

The bolded areas are the ones I and others around me have seen in myself. Every one of those bolded items is a thing I go through, or others go through with me on a daily basis. Am wondering though, about the "concentration" issues associated with ADHD. I've found it rather difficult to concentrate on boring crap, like schoolwork. BUT, wherever I had access to books, I would sit and read for hours. I prefered reading encyclopedias to doing worksheets, reading anything basically. Am wondering if this is why I was never thought of as having ADHD, the fact that I do concentrate intensely on certain things... The "interests" and "obsessions" I originally associated with AS have often been shortlived, extremely intense, but mostly shortlived. Am wondering now. Was quite happy about finding out about AS, and yet ADHD seems to fit as well. They seem to not be compatible however... Or am I missing something?

It's funny, I never thought of ADHD or anything like it could relate to myself. I figured it to be for the kids who were hyper and extremely outgoing, totally unlike myself. But it seems that's only HALF of the equation there. Dang glad you guys are here, all I gotta say. Seriously thinking about acquiring insurance, see someone, figure this out for me. Being enlightened sure is confusing!

Well I have a few of the things you just said, but I often focus a lot on things aswell, for me I often neglect homework, either I feel that I know it and to do it would just be a waste of time. I have found that if I am just redoing things like doing maths I understand or even writing things up that I know then I find it pointless, but when learning stuff I want to learn then I am fine. Work sheets are rigged and for me it the riggidnes is just boreing and repetitive, I am not hyper either but I do remember losing things like pencils and getting very upset I could not do the task. I have a lot of trouble organising activities, and I know that people often feel that I am not listening to them so I kind of put on behaviours so I look like I am takeing everything in. But I thought some of these were attributed to AS anyway.

I have the same sort of thing. My latest problem is going to a shop, buying something, then walking away without it. Luckily, the person who served me always calls me back.
I can't leave the house without realising that I've forgotten something that I need for that day. I spend ridiculous amounts of money on pens and such things because of this.
I open things in new tabs in my web browser; an hour later I see the tab and realise that I forgot about it as soon as I opened it. I go to search engines and almost immediately forget what I was going to look up. It's ridiculous.

Two things very strongly associated with AS seem likely contributors to the issues described (and yes, I also have personal experience of this annoying phenomena).

Firstly, many people with AS have impairment of executive functioning. Executive functioning acts to alert us to relevant stimulus that is not currently the focus of one's attention; for instance to alert us that our tools need to be picked up and taken with us in the midst of focusing on the task for which the tools might be used. Stimulus can be external (such as one's name is being spoken when engaged in a task and not paying attention to verbalisations in one's immediate vicinity), or internal (such as an intention to remember to do some minor task such as make sure you have your wallet still when engaged in boarding a bus).

The second contributor is the 'fixation' and attention profile associated with AS. People with AS often have difficulty shifting attention both generally (as seen in the pervasive all encompassing interests) and specifically (as seen, for example, with people who are unable to stop a task until they have arrived at some kind of end, for instance at the end of a paragraph or chapter when reading a book).

Between an impairment in executive functioning, and difficulties shifting attention from one thing to another, it is not surprising that the issues described by the OP would be common amongst people characterized by AS.

Yes that is hyperfocus once you find something that really interests you get totally obsorbed into it. Hyperfocus is a talent that people with ADHD have. You have to be really interested in something for it to kick in.



Yeah I always thought ADHD meant you were bouncing off the walls to. But it can have the opposite effect I'm hypoactive. lol

Yep, i sure....what was i going to say....

I can forget what month or day it is and have to look it up,
and i very often discover something i have been working on
and just forgot because i started doing something else. But it
works out, used to it by now, and i never forget the really
important things, always details and small stuff, so could be worse.
Some might argue that forgetting what day/month/year it is
is a major problem, but its not so bad, dont see it as very imortant.
Think there might be something there, if i dont see a thing as important,
it just disappears out of my head or something, so if i tweek it around
and think of it as something important, it sticks. Kind of a selective
forgetfulnes, but dont do it on purpose. Guess i focus on what i see as
important, and everything else gets pushed to the side. Doesn`t have
to be one thing, it can be 8 different projects i`m doing at the same
time, but then everything else but those 8 things get pushed away.
One pluss, i get alot! done on the things i`m doing by shutting everything
else out, but then again i have absolutely nothing else to do but work,
its what keeps me going. Working my way into a hole in the ground it
looks like. dammit!!

there was something i was supposed to do...hmm..wonder what it was

I've been diagnosed with Poor Memory Index. Which can be annoying as I can remember some things but over time I forget which order they were in. I can do a task quite well, as soon as I get interrupted or I'm asked to do something else, I start to forget. Like finishing an order, replacing the phone, burning food. Maybe it's time to inform my employer - anybody have something on it in Japanese?

One thing that is funny in a way, but also irritating sometimes,
i can remember crystal clear 25 year old memories, but last
thursday is pretty much a blur, really have to sit down and
concentrate and then, maybe, i remember

Geeze. You guys are making me feel so much better. This problem has upset me my entire life.

This is a very common problem with me, it seems to be worse at times and almost non-existent at others. I think the thing I have the most trouble is trying to put past events in order, even if they all happened less then a couple hours ago.

Have you had an EEG and MRI.

Keep in mind that you can be having 100 absence seizures a day and still have a normal EEG

The first set I deal with daily.

The bold part I've dealt with less often, but to a very strong degree. Have been told to stop doing what I was doing at work quite often. Not knowing where to stop has been a problem. This example I have shows I'm a pretty dead end guy, but I once worked at a convenience store and I had a problem with stocking the beverage cooler-it had to be completely stocked before I'd leave it (my requirement, not the boss's!). Problem? This is practically impossible as there is a constant stream of customers, and I'd go back and forth whenever something was taken and needed to be refilled. Any number of tasks would take forever at that store now that I think of it, usually for that reason. Fixation seems to describe the behavior perfectly. Now that I work at a different place, I'm constantly interupted, so this doesn't happen too often. At the convenience store, where I'd be left to my self for a while, this would happen more frequently.

^

""had a problem with stocking the beverage cooler-it had to be completely stocked before I'd leave it (my requirement, not the boss's!). Problem? This is practically impossible as there is a constant stream of customers, and I'd go back and forth whenever something was taken and needed to be refilled.""


Know just what you mean.. Did similar things earlier, wasted so much time on
details that didnt really matter when looking at the big pictures. Just had to do
it to be able to relax and let it go. This bothered me so much after a while, i felt
i had to try and do something about it. Do not like to waste time, and i saw it more
and more clearly what i was doing. Still can findmyself having spent 2 hours on a 30
minute job, but its not so often. I`m very aware of the problem, and as soon as i notice
myself doing this, i grab my neck and stop myself, tell myself "this is a waste, stop it
you dumbass". Hard in the beginning, but got easier after a while, and it helped.

I always thought this was part and parcel with AS. I have to keep things in one central place, or I'll lose all the small items I need during the day. I have a soft briefcase for stuff, and keep all my personal items in a basket at home so I won't lose them.