Published on 12, July, 2020
Prosopagnosia , or face blindness. I suffer from it and have done so for as long as I can remember. Does anyone else here have similar problems?
It's very embarrassing when someone greets me and I have no idea who they are or where do I know them from. Related to this problem is name blindness where I find it very very difficult to remember people's names.
Recently I was greeted by a man in a park and I struggled badly to remember who he was. I mostly remember people from their voices and other visual clues such what they wear, where they usually sit. He turned out to be a colleague from a health and fitness course I recently attended.
How common is it for autistics to suffer from prosopagnosia ?
I feel that I have face blindness. Although I can recognise some people. For example if i saw my friend who i have known all my life, in a supermarket I would instantly recognise her. If i try to picture my friend in her house in my mind, I can see her house and the furnitire in her house in great detail but if i try to picture my friend sitting in her arm chair I can only get this hazy human shape. My son once came out of school and I couldn't recognise him from his face but thought it I must be him as he was wearing his hat. I think i may put people in categories based on their hair style/colour or shape of face etc. Problem with this is I then frequently get people confused which can create some very awkward moments.