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facial recognition

jane_doe

jane_doe

Member
lots of people i know dont know much about autism so it is often diffuclut to explain things. i need a way of saying"even though we have been freinds for years i might not be able to pick out you face in a crowd" without sounding like i dont care about them
 
 
Hmm. I can recognize somewhere between 7 and 9 faces. Hair color helps a lot, but that can be changed. Slight deviations in the facial features from the "basic shape" can help if I know the person well enough. I tend to look more at mannerisms - posture and micro-expressions and the like. And voices I can almost always tell.
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I'm not sure how to tell someone about this, though. It isn't something easily relatable.
 
 
I struggle to recognise people too. It can be quite embarrassing. People I've known for a very long time I tend to be able to recognise but if I've only interacted with a person a handful of times, I struggle, particularly if I haven't seen them in a while. People think I'm rude because I didn't recognise them while they were jumping around like a jack in the box trying to get my attention. Faces just don't seem to stick in my memory very well.
 
Until recently I always put the common occurrence of random strangers insisting they knew me down to having a face that's recognisable but also easily mistaken for others'. It's only since diagnosis that I've realised they actually likely did know me.
 
I recognize people, but not expressions. I needed to read books about body language just to understand some of it. And, I still have difficulty.
 
jane_doe said:
thanks. also thinking about it i have realised that its not normal to be able not to visualise people
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I readily recognize faces, IRL, if I keep seeing them on a regular basis, but I cannot visualize them. This is also true for my figure collection. I collect their heads so I can have physical references in my amateur drawing studio, Studio 126.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/studio_126/albums/72157626598794790I seem to recognize male & female celebrities longer than I do for people that I have met in person (at least, when I see them in media).
 
full

The poster child for prosopagnosia [face-blindness]!
Little Red Riding Hood​
 
I've never been good at remembering faces. Now that makes sense since I got to know that most people make more eye contact.
 
jane_doe said:
lots of people i know dont know much about autism so it is often diffuclut to explain things. i need a way of saying"even though we have been freinds for years i might not be able to pick out you face in a crowd" without sounding like i dont care about them
Click to expand...
I usually explain that it's like colorblindness. Most people understand that at a basic level. I explain that colorblind people can see two colors next to each other and see they are different but they often can't pick out which is which. If they want more then I'll explain that, to me, faces are kind of like ornate vases, I can see all the independent features and if I'm looking at multiple I can say this one has sharper angles and that one more curves but if you show me a random vase and expect me to pick it out of a line up next week I'd be at a complete loss.
But if I had one that vase I interacted with on a daily basis I could probably find it in a pile, given some time, but I still might not be 100% sure.
That seems to work for me with most people.

I used to use dogs, because it makes more sense to me, and I could go further to explain manorisms and their voice. But people didn't respond well to being compared to dogs :)
Slightly said:
I no longer introduce myself to people because helf the time it turns out we've already met.
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I now tell anyone that seems significant that I can't recognize faces, when I meet them. Not random strangers but anyone I think I'll interact again. And then before I introduce myself I'll ask if we've met. Then if we did I do a half apology and remind them about my face issue. A lot of time I'll figure out who they are after they start talking to me and I'll let them know. Sometimes even if I don't remember them I'll pretend to (it seems to make them feel better) and then ask a trusted person who they are or who I know them.
 
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