Would you like to take part in a study on memories?

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Yes that would be difficult for me to pinpoint, and I can only really talk about vaguely in the last 2-3 years, which is I suppose where the main turning points are. As I don't remember things well on demand I will have to think about one, then try and figure out when it happened.

I do remember a few more sensationalist thing a bit earlier, not word for word but roughly what happened.

I wish I wasn't like this. As it is it is they can't test for this very well. It is not the only odd cognitive problem I've got.

Dragonfly_Dreams, this study will probably be going on for another two or three months, so you might get a chance to participate if you get a diagnosis within that timeframe. Otherwise, you can PM/e-mail me your e-mail so that I can contact you for future studies, if you'd be interested.

0_equals_true, I'm sorry that your memory problems cause such difficulties. If it helps at all, most of the time people think they remember the past exactly as it happened, but really, they're reconstructing it and sometimes distorting it, based on their current emotional state or current priorities. Very rarely does anyone perfectly recall something exactly, but most people aren't aware of their fuzzy recall. Daniel Schacter has some interesting books on memory, and I don't know if you have any interest, but you might like The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers.

I've been officially diagnosed, but only recently, and haven't got back the paperwork yet. Do you need to see proof of my diagnosis?

Thanks for reply.
In part, it's the inherent nature of IM-ing that I'm uncomfortable with (not just the technological limitations of my internet conection). Require time to craft & select my words, rather than have to respond immediately ("on-the-fly"). Plus, I can't think/feel properly when not at home (due to anxiety & distraction, caused by phobias).

Regret that I'm unable to participate, for this reason. If you do another study sometime, please keep this in mind: that some folks aren't able to communicate at rapid-fire pace, despite being articulate if given sufficient time to do so (say, via email).

Am pleased that you're coming to people with the dx in order to ask "us" how it is-rather than being another pontificating researcher trying to impose assumptions at a distance, without actually asking those who know from personal experience. This is appreciated.

Liopleurodon, I don't need to see proof of your diagnosis. There's one section on the sign up page that asks for some information about your diagnosis--for your name, the name of the person who diagnosed you, the profession of the person who diagnosed you, where you were diagnosed, at what age you were diagnosed, and what method was used. This information concerning your diagnosis is stored separately from all other information you provide and will be kept strictly confidential.

Belfast, I tend to be more contemplative, too, and I like time to think before I type anything, but I think in general, this interview method works. I like being able to ask for clarification and to ask follow up questions while the topics are fresh in participants' minds. In the future, I may try experimenting more with different mediums for interviews, though. In some ways, an e-mail version might work better. And I'm glad you appreciate my study. I don't think any researchers should presume to know what people's experiences are without taking the time to ask.

That's very interesting. I used to know someone who was utterly convinced they had a perfect memory, but it turned out that they just simply believed whatever their (obviously subjective) recall told them, and disbelieved anyone else's recall. It was a scary thing to watch, because they actually distorted events more than usual, not less, and yet would simply lash out at and insult anyone who remembered anything different than they did, rather than accepting that nobody has a perfect memory.

I take it that you are not interested in people with an autism diagnosis? Otherwise I would participate, but I am not and never was diagnosed with AS. (Too many language problems.)

10 dollars is worth only about 10 minutes of my time. Up the ante about 5x and I'm in.

anbuend, I think most people think they remember the past better than they actually do, but the person you knew sounds like an especially extreme case. Just to be clear, my research focus isn't on memory problems, I've just read a lot about memory in the course of looking at personal narratives about important and personally significant events. For this study, I am interested in people with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, but as I've mentioned to others, if you'd like to send me your e-mail address, I can keep you on file for future studies that aren't so restrictive.

Fnord, I do wish I could pay more, but my current funding just doesn't permit it. Maybe if I get a large research grant in the future I can do better.

i'd love to participate... too bad i'm not diagnosed.

I'm 35, Australian (with English as 1st language), diagnosed with AS according to Australian standards, and have unusually clear memories of childhood - my earliest is from two weeks before I turned two years old. Indeed, just an hour or so ago I was discussing with my father a fairly obscure place our family travelled to on a holiday when I was four years old (I recognised it because it was shown on a TV program).

Anyway, I'd love to participate, but unfortunately, my access to the internet is a bit sporadic at the moment (which isn't a good situation to be in for a Aspie). Weekends are a fair bet for me, though.

Sounds interesting. Maybe the result of the study will be available on the internet afterwards (as an article or so?)
Unfortunately I can't participate because of the language (I agree it would be too difficult to talk about such things as eg. childhood memories in a foreign language just as exact as in one's native language - at least I know it would be so to me). But I have an official diagnosis.

Axon, please do sign up--the sign up page is here(I finally have enough posts to put the link in!). I don't mind doing interviews on evenings and weekends, since my schedule is pretty flexible. This study will probably still be going on for at least another month or two, so if you want to wait until you have better internet access, that's would be okay.

AnnePande, I'm sure this study will eventually become the topic of an article (though it could be as much as a year or more before it gets published). I'll probably get a PDF copy of the study, and I'll be happy to share it with anyone who is interested.

Just bumping this up because I still need more people to take part in this study.

It says something on the lines of "If you don't qualify..."
How can someone not qualify for something like this if they are a diagnosed aspie?

Hi Synth,
The vast majority of people who sign up do qualify. However, for this study, I can't interview people who are not over 18 or whose first language is not English. So I can't guarantee that everyone who signs up will be interviewed, but most will be.

I'm sorry- what were we talking about?