Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

Eureka13
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Nov 2013
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,058
Location: The wilds of Colorado

03 Mar 2014, 11:24 pm

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.



newageretrohippie
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Jul 2013
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 814
Location: Keene, NH

03 Mar 2014, 11:33 pm

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!


pinkgurl87
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 210

03 Mar 2014, 11:59 pm

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


sapere_aude
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 21 Feb 2014
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 51

04 Mar 2014, 2:39 am

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.



EzraS
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Sep 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,828
Location: Twin Peaks

04 Mar 2014, 2:42 am

Oh hi there, uh... um... uhh... uhh... oh yeah, hi mom!



DaveBacon
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 1 Mar 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 9
Location: United Kingdom

04 Mar 2014, 2:56 am

I'm terrible with names too. I'm a plumber and electrician and whenever I see a customer out and about, I can never remember their name, but I can remember every little detail about the work I did on their house.



Soccer22
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jun 2013
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 692

04 Mar 2014, 9:42 am

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.



IKnowWhoIAmNow
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 9 Jun 2013
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Posts: 314
Location: Suffolk, United Kingdom

04 Mar 2014, 10:37 am

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 :oops:


_________________
I'm Martin, born 1965, diagnosed with AS at 43 (Twitter)
I am "single and looking" and can be found at PlentyOfFish if you like what you see here


Eureka13
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Nov 2013
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,058
Location: The wilds of Colorado

04 Mar 2014, 1:01 pm

IKnowWhoIAmNow wrote:
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 :oops:


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. :lol:



Prof_Pretorius
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,520
Location: Hiding in the attic of the Arkham Library

04 Mar 2014, 2:02 pm

Eureka13 wrote:
IKnowWhoIAmNow wrote:
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 :oops:


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. :lol:


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


Voider
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 8 Jan 2014
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Posts: 49

04 Mar 2014, 2:54 pm

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
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Posts: 113,561
Location: Stalag 13

04 Mar 2014, 6:02 pm

I've had a hard time remembering names, my entire life. I don't have any trouble remembering faces, just names.


_________________
Who wants to adopt a Sweet Pea?


GivePeaceAChance
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Jan 2014
Age: 61
Gender: Female
Posts: 806
Location: USA

04 Mar 2014, 6:15 pm

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


Jensen
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Age: 70
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,013
Location: Denmark

04 Mar 2014, 7:28 pm

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


capri0112
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Age: 54
Gender: Female
Posts: 102
Location: IL, USA

04 Mar 2014, 10:03 pm

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.

jrjones9933
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 May 2011
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,144
Location: The end of the northwest passage

04 Mar 2014, 10:15 pm

If I don't see someone for a few years, even a friend, I might forget his or her name. I may have gotten worse lately, but I could also attribute it to changing circumstances.

I usually have a terrible time learning names in the first place. Sometimes I get on a roll, but for most of my life they've gone in one ear and out the other.

If I see someone I like in a different context than usual, I might not recognize them at all.