Memory

[Butterfly88]

No memory issues here. I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so I often have recurring disturbing memories, I wish there was a way to shut that off. So quite the opposite really.

 

[Shamar]

My memory is like many here (a lot of me is like many here!). I cannot remember a sequence or names. I'm great at math, but cannot remember equations. I am unable to learn a foreign language, just bits and pieces, despite many attempts at maybe a half dozen languages.

It seems to me the this problem is common to many autistics, to the point maybe it should be added as one of the diagnostic criteria.

 

[SplendidSnail]

My short term memory is very bad, and my long term memory is very good, which I think is pretty typical of someone with ASD.

Here's a test on short term memory (working memory):
http://opencoglab.org/memtest1/

On the test, a perfect score is 71, and 70% of people score between 25.2 and 47.4.

I scored 22 on the test.

 

[55853]

It seems to me the this problem is common to many autistics, to the point maybe it should be added as one of the diagnostic criteria.

I hope not, I don't really want to lose my diagnosis. Please don't forget how varied those of us on the spectrum are. What some of you are struggling with are actually some of my biggest strengths.

I don't believe this site is in any way representative, but don't forget 15.2% of us so far have said we don't have this problem, and that many people without autism have these issues. It would only make sense to be in the criteria if it had low false negative (not wrongly excluding people with autism) and low false positive (not wrongly including people without autism). I think the false positive would be particularly high in this case.

 

[Progster]

My memory is like many here (a lot of me is like many here!). I cannot remember a sequence or names. I'm great at math, but cannot remember equations. I am unable to learn a foreign language, just bits and pieces, despite many attempts at maybe a half dozen languages.

It seems to me the this problem is common to many autistics, to the point maybe it should be added as one of the diagnostic criteria.

I am good at learning foreign languages, it is one of the few things that I actually excel at. If that were a diagnosic criterium, half of the people on this forum would lose their diagnosis.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

What about the guy who can paint an entiere city landscape just by looking at it a few minutes, i guess this guy isnt autistic right? xD


But anyway, I have talked to my closest friend about my ASD , and what he told me ( he is a doctor well almost) , is that he didnt know a lot about it BUT, one thing he was sure is that I shouldnt consider every problem I have to be directly related to ASD!



ADHD, anxiety, depression,maybe some medication,I think even ODC can make you doubt your memory since it forces you to always double check everything, so many things can imparaire your ability to learn !



If it realy causes you trouble in your life talk about it to a professional.

 

[Bella Pines]

Awful short term memory, I am often surprised by what I find in my hands, I look down and have no memory of picking it up. I remember patterns and numbers very easily and forever. I did think my long term memory was good, but an old school friend of mine relayed some stuff I did that I have NO memory of whatsoever. I mean we're talking 6 months. Apparently one of my teachers was rubbish and messing up my exams, so I actually wrote a petition and got the whole class to sign it, asking for him to be removed. I finally nailed some extra lessons after school which I traveled to, and ended up with an "A" in the subject. NONE OF THIS rings a bell, it's the sort of thing I would do, and several people have told me that I did it, but I don't remember a single thing about it, id doesn't even feel vaguely familiar. However, I can precisely map the nearby forest that I grew up in down to the moss on the trees.

So short AND long term memory problems apparently.

And I think there were a few threads on this.

Of course I can't remember any of them...

 

[DesertRose]

Third : All our issues mixed all together trigger a lack of self esteem , we dont trust ourself anymore, so we dont trust our own memory. Even when you have the answer it takes longer to say it or you will not say it because you think you might be wrong due to some past mistakes.(everybody make mistakes we should learn to accept it.)
And I dont even bring the part where we are depressed and ofc at this moment our memory isnt realy good anymore. But this is temporary.

You couldn't have described me any better than if you were my clone. Wow. Nailed it.

 

[stringer]

As I grew older my short term memory went really bad, because I couldn’t pay attention unless things were really interesting.

This accords with my own perception of my memory issues. If something interests me then I have no problem remembering in minute detail. But much of what I experience in everyday life just washes over me, and it's almost as if my mind decides it's not worthwhile entering it into the memory bank. The result is that I have a rather selective memory, with only a small fraction of what I experience getting retained at more than a completely superficial level.

 

[Nervous Rex]

My memory is so good, I can remember things that haven't even happened.