Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
Firstly, I could've sworn I had an account on here and that I posted once before. I had to set up a new account though.
One thing I still question myself about constantly, though my old GP just figured it was because of how... I can't think of the right word... basically how my mind/brain works with over analysing things etc., is whether or not I was mis-diagnosed with autism/Asperger's. I just feel the diagnosis process was a bit too brief. I'd definitely say I have Asperger's if I put myself into any category. I definitely feel there are differences between autistic and Asperger's, whereas now it's all combined together as autism. My brother is much more autistic in comparison and struggles to recognise faces sometimes. He would still fit under the high-functioning category though. In my case, it's more social difficulties, anxieties, and having highly focused hobbies/passions.
One thing I've read is that it's pretty common for autistic people to struggle at recognising and processing faces, but if anything, it tends to be the opposite for me - I'm actually quite good at recognising faces. Not so much at remembering names, if it's someone new I've met, but in terms of actors etc. I tend to recognise a familiar actor pretty quickly. It's definitely a useful thing as I'm at university doing Game Art and specialise in making characters, which requires a LOT of observation and nuances for facial features etc.
However, I have been told 'if you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism'.
Tim
EDIT: Also, it's the same with voices, though, again, primarily wth famous people/actors. Can't really say the same about someone I barely know I've met in person.
I'm kind of the opposite. I'm good at remembering people I met in person but struggle to watch films or TV with casts that aren't very diverse, as I can't tell whether the e.g. dark-haired white man in a suit is the same dark-haired white man in a suit who was on screen five minutes ago or whether he's a new character.
This is something I struggle with. Where people get older and change I struggle to recognise them and think of them as the same person
This is an issue I've got with myself
I remember myself really little with blond hair and now I'm a lot taller, rounder face and brown long hair and I struggle to see I'm the same girl
I think this only really makes sense to me I've not meet anyone else who thinks like this
remembering names .. no chance.
i can see that a face is smiling, or laughing or has a significantly negative expression, and I can see when a face is not relaxed - so I assume here is some expression that i do not recognize. The issue is that I recognize the expression as the shape made by a face, not as a reflection of the emotion or intent of the person.
If I see someone looking at me with a smile on their face and waving their hand, I do not see that someone is happy to see me, i see a collection of factors that in context, lead me to infer that a person is happy to see me. The latter has little or no emotional meaning.
Yes, I am great at recognising faces and can recognise people I knew at primary school and haven't seen since, though I'm now in my 60s. I am useless with names, I usually do not retain names of people I am introduced to, even a few seconds afterwards. It takes a while for the face and name to align in my brain.