Anyone have a hard time recognizing people?

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i have issues immediately recognising people especially if they are new but after a while they start to differentiate from the blob that is humanity. i also have issues with people i have known for a long time and see often. like family or my comrades. it is embarrassing and sometimes people i do not know start speaking to me like they have met me before and its like who the fudge are you?

I don't see why this would be common in those with AS - does anyone know the theory behind this? I would have suspected the opposite as we tend to be more visually-orientated than the general population.

I have an extremely good memory for faces. I recognise people I haven't seen in 20 years, and I recognise current actors when I see them in old movies, or I will know that I have seen a lesser-known actor in another movie sometime.

This is more common in people across the autistic spectrum - AS, autism, PDD-NOS.

Part of your brain does visual processing. A different part of your brain processes faces. For whatever reason, this part of the brain doesn't work as well (or sometimes at all) in people with prosopagnosia.

Well, I often identify people by:

* clothing
* hairstyle
* facial hair
* voice
* mannerisms
* context

Although recognition can be delayed. Like if I meet someone I know somewhere I don't usually see them or expect to see them, it can take me much of the conversation to figure out who they are. I usually cover for this, but it's really awkward, and I think obvious (as in a friend of mine noticed me doing the covering thing on several occasions).

Thank you for supplying the name "fusiform gyrus." I think what you're referring to is rdos' neanderthal theory, which says autistic brains are set up to recognize neanderthal faces. I am not sure it works that way either. I've also seen people discuss possibilities like some of us might have trouble with faces because we find it hard to make eye contact.

Yes. I have a hard time recognizing acquaintances or distant family members that I don't see much. I live in a small town, sort of an everybody-knows-everybody type place. I used to work as a cashier at the Wal-Mart there, and I'd have people talk to me, ask me about my family, etc.

It was very hard and awkward, because I knew that we were acquainted somehow, but I just couldn't quite get it. Often, I'd remember like 10 minutes after the person left. If I get a little time to analyze the conversation, I can often remember the person, but I can't quite get it when they're standing right in front of me, putting me on the spot.

I always just try to be as polite as possible. If the person realizes that I didn't recognize them I always offer an apology and just say that I have difficulty remembering faces and names. Most people are pretty cool with that.

Sadly, yes. It could be someone I've known forever, but when it's in public, I have a more difficult time.

I seem to recognize people by their hair, clothes and general body shape rather than their faces. If someone I know changes their hair and I see them at a store or something, I wouldn't recognize them.
A couple times I didn't recognize coworkers because they didn't have their work clothes on.

I saw an old picture of someone I lived with for 6 years. I've only known him with long hair and a beard and I didn't recognize him in the pic at all because he had short hair and no beard.

I can recognize famous people from movies and tv, I'll tell you what show is on in .005 seconds of me entering a room, then I will give you what shows they have been in and other interesting yet utterly useless facts about them....

But when it comes to real live in my face people... Good luck. I don't see their eyes, if I'm stressed I don't see their face or any identifying features above the shoulders...

When I drive the BF to the store, I have to take a mental snapshot of what he's wearing so i can pick him out of the crowd when he comes out of the store so I know when to start the van and unlock his door. There have been times I haven't recognized him because he has bought a new jacket or hat and wore it out of the store. I say "I didn't recognize you" to which he replies <sarc>"yeah I'm incognito"</sarc>

It's a bit disconcerting when you have what you perceive to be a complete stranger trying to get into your vehicle.

My best friend, I talk to him almost everyday, I've only seen him in person a handful of times. The last time I saw him was almost a year ago, I think he had a beard...... I have no idea what he looks like. I'd be able to pick him out by his voice before I would ever recognize him by appearance.

Sorry my Nilla..... You know how it is.