Special (Aspie) Skills

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Joined: 18 Mar 2014
Age: 60
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Location: Sydney, Australia

25 Jan 2015, 10:27 pm

Maybe...just maybe, eidetic memory is lost around puberty for Neurotypicals, but for those of us on the Spectrum, we never lose it - I mean, there are a lot of habits and brain functions that NTs lose in childhood or adolescence but which we still retain.

Jezebel
Toucan
Toucan

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25 Jan 2015, 10:37 pm

Campin_Cat wrote:

Hmmm, that's interesting because I have heard so many other people say they have it.

As have I. I grew up with my mother saying she had one and that my brother and I did as well, but research has proven her wrong.

Campin_Cat wrote:

From what I have heard about an eidetic memory, is it's people who can remember events, what people were wearing, what someone ate, etc. from any date given them. It IS rare----I think I heard that there's like 9 people who have it----6 of them were on "The Today Show", including the actress Marilou Henner, from the TV show "Taxi", and other things----and, all of them were WELL-PAST the age of 14.

I think you're referring to hyperthymesia? That is extremely rare as well, but it's not the same as eidetic imagery/memory.

Campin_Cat wrote:

That's cool, about your mom doing it, too!

It's funny because I've never heard of anyone else say the same thing. You two must be special! xD

SoMissunderstood wrote:

I have no idea, but that would be interesting to study. It does seem to be gone by adolescence (perhaps I should've worded my original post differently) in what I'm assuming were NT children (though I have no idea obviously), so it would be interesting to compare autistic children to NT children.

If you really believe you have an eidetic memory and can remember details from images perfectly though, then I'd totally advise you to let a psychologist or neuroscientist study you. It would be really interesting to see the results and maybe you could answer some questions about the neurobiological differences of autistic people!

I wasn't aware we retain habits or functions NTs lose? Interesting! Which ones?

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Diagnosed with ADHD combined type (02/09/16) and ASD Level 1 (04/28/16).

Hansgrohe
Deinonychus

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25 Jan 2015, 10:45 pm

SoMissunderstood wrote:

I'm about to be 18 and I still have a very, very strong memory. I'm not sure whether this would be eidetic but I seem to remember very, very specific events. I wouldn't say perfectly, but the fact that I remember some of the circumstances is quite amazing. I don't just think in pictures but I think in full-motion video. Quite interesting.

SoMissunderstood
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25 Jan 2015, 10:48 pm

Jezebel wrote:

If you really believe you have an eidetic memory and can remember details from images perfectly though, then I'd totally advise you to let a psychologist or neuroscience study you. It would be really interesting to see the results and maybe you could answer some questions about the neurobiological differences of autistic people!

I wasn't aware we retain habits or functions NTs lose? Interesting! Which ones?

That may be a good idea...I'll speak to my doctor about it.

For example, If I am travelling along in a car with family, they'll say 'what was the number plate of that red Ford that passed us 20 minutes ago when we were at a specific location?'...and I can tell them.

Then they'll say 'what was the telephone number of your great grandma who died 40 years ago?'...and I can tell them.

They'll say 'do you remember what I wore to my nieces engagement party last month?'...too easy.

I filter out nothing...everything goes in my brain's 'filing cabinet' for later.

Some (not all) Autistic people tend to be more child-like, naive and oversensitive. They have traits that Neurotypicals tend to grow out of...like a hightened sense of intuition, having 'imaginary friends' and more playful aspects associated with naivite...that most NTs grow out of by the time they reach puberty...when they begin to take the world and life more seriously.

Last edited by SoMissunderstood on 25 Jan 2015, 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

SoMissunderstood
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25 Jan 2015, 10:53 pm

By the way...have at:

Stephen Wiltshire -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... emory.html

Case closed. lol

Jezebel
Toucan
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25 Jan 2015, 11:04 pm

SoMissunderstood wrote:

That may be a good idea...

For example, If I am travelling along in a car with family, they'll say 'what was the number plate of that red Ford that passed us 20 minutes ago when we were at a specific location?'...and I can tell them.

Then they'll say 'what was the telephone number of your great grandma who died 40 years ago?'...and I can tell them.

They'll say 'do you remember what I wore to my nieces engagement party last month?...too easy.

Some (not all) Autistic people tend to be more child-like, naive and oversensitive. They have traits that Neurotypicals tend to grow out of...like a hightened sense of intuition, having 'imaginary friends' and more playful aspects associated with naivite...that most grow out of by the time they reach puberty...when they begin to take the world and life more seriously.

It definitely is if you believe you have an absolutely perfect memory for images. I know one way they test children is to give them an unfamiliar image and let them look at it for 30 seconds and then have them describe miniscule details about it.

Oh, okay, thank you, I get what you mean.

Hansgrohe wrote:

You think in full-motion video? That sounds cool.

SoMissunderstood wrote:

By the way...have at:

Stephen Wiltshire -

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article" class="vglnk">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article</a> ... emory.html

Case closed. lol

Case closed? About what? It doesn't really prove anything. I'm aware of Stephen and he just proves how rare such an exceptional memory is, especially in adults.

_________________
Diagnosed with ADHD combined type (02/09/16) and ASD Level 1 (04/28/16).

SoMissunderstood
Velociraptor

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25 Jan 2015, 11:12 pm

'Case closed' as in there is one Autistic person I have found with an eidetic memory over the age of 14, so the point was proven to the contrary.

There may be more, but I agree, it is very rare.

I also probably just have a very good memory and not an eidetic one....because I cannot do what Stephen does...not in so much detail anyway.

Just don't play 'Trivial Pursuit' with me.....coz I cheat. :p

JupiterSpace
Tufted Titmouse

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25 Jan 2015, 11:15 pm

Yeah.. I Can Imagine Images In My Head, Voices I Fight My Self Everyday With My Left And Right Brain, I Was Drawing Since I Was Little And Now I Can Draw A Rough Person In About 10-30 Secs. 10 Minutes To Make A Perfect One. I Make Movies, Music , And Other Stuff

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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 185 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 52 of 200

LupaLuna
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25 Jan 2015, 11:17 pm

QuantumChemist wrote:

LupaLuna wrote:

QuantumChemist wrote:

As for how many people think with these image processing methods, I have no idea but it is probably fairly rare overall. When I explain how I can visualize matter this way in my mind to others in my field, I mostly get blank stares or "I don't believe you" responses. The way that they "properly design" a new molecule in their research is to find a starting material structure in the known literature, draw it on a piece of paper and then go through the process of putting in new parts to see what might work (which takes a much longer time to do). They cannot understand why I do not need a piece of paper to do this process. I usually end up seeing the product structure much faster than they do "their" way if we are after the same materials.

Don't quote me on this. But I really think that the "Swimming theater" talent may be an aspie thing. If you think about it. It's an essential tool for the comprehension, analysis and the process of abstract things. and most aspies are good in this area. My swimming theater is an integral part of my personality and I just can't imagine myself without it.

I think that you are most likely correct on this. In my reply above, I should have said that it is rare overall in the entire population (as that is what I was trying to say). Among Aspies, it probably is not rare at all to have it in varying degrees. Quite a few of the scientists that I asked are likely also Aspies (I did not ask them if they were, I only suspect them to be), yet most did not think using the "Swimming theater" method. I should say that I did this before my self-diagnosis, I was just curious if my fellow workers thought the same way that I did when working on projects. It surprised me a bit that they did not.

It just seem to me that the "Swimming theater" was an aspie thing. I'm just being open minded about this. I kind of suspected it was, but once InventorDave mention that 3D visualization thing in his head. I just went. HOLY COW! that's exactly the way I think.

Jezebel
Toucan
Toucan

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25 Jan 2015, 11:29 pm

SoMissunderstood wrote:

But I never said it was impossible for someone over age 14 or someone who is autistic to have it? I said it was unlikely (which it is) and in fact, I agreed with you that it would be interesting to see if autistic children who truly have eidetic memories retain theirs longer than NTs. But in my earlier post I said, "A photographic memory doesn't actually exist; it's called eidetic memory and it's very very rare and unlikely for anyone over about 14 to have." I said "about 14" because it's known to diminish around adolescence/onset of puberty and some people start puberty late. This study (which I just found) states it wasn't found in anyone over age 12, so I was just being fair with my adolescence/puberty estimate by extending it for the later bloomers.

His ability is truly amazing. It seems like such a cool ability to have.
I remember Trivial Pursuit. I was never good at it though lol

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Diagnosed with ADHD combined type (02/09/16) and ASD Level 1 (04/28/16).

SoMissunderstood
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25 Jan 2015, 11:33 pm

Jezebel wrote:

SoMissunderstood wrote:

But I never said it was impossible for someone over age 14 or someone who is autistic to have it? I said it was unlikely (which it is) and in fact, I agreed with you that it would be interesting to see if autistic children who truly have eidetic memories retain theirs longer than NT. But in my earlier post I said, "A photographic memory doesn't actually exist; it's called eidetic memory and it's very very rare and unlikely for anyone over about 14 to have." I said "about 14" because it's known to diminish around adolescence/onset of puberty and some people start puberty late. This study (which I just found) states it wasn't found in anyone over age 12, so I was just being fair with my adolescence/puberty estimate by extending it for the later bloomers.

His ability is truly amazing. It seems like such a cool ability to have.
I remember Trivial Pursuit. I was never good at it though lol

It's all good - at least we are on the same page now and I fully understand.

Yeah, my head full of so much useless information I wonder how I freaking store it all sometimes!

Jezebel
Toucan
Toucan

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25 Jan 2015, 11:40 pm

SoMissunderstood wrote:

It's all good - at least we are on the same page now and I fully understand.

Yeah, my head full of so much useless information I wonder how I freaking store it all sometimes!

Yeah, I agree. I really probably should have elaborated in my first post so as not to cause confusion.

Oh so like you mentally collect facts and such about different topics? (Or did you mean something else?) That sounds cool. Maybe it's one of your aspie skills

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SoMissunderstood
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25 Jan 2015, 11:48 pm

Jezebel wrote:

SoMissunderstood wrote:

It's all good - at least we are on the same page now and I fully understand.

Yeah, my head full of so much useless information I wonder how I freaking store it all sometimes!

Yeah, that's what I meant and I agree, it's one of the upsides to having Asperger's when I get annoyed about all of the downsides, I can also think of the benefits and the skills it gives me which NTs don't seem to possess.

Jezebel
Toucan
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25 Jan 2015, 11:55 pm

SoMissunderstood wrote:

I've heard of people mentally compartmentalizing their minds with information before, but I've never really talked to anyone who does it. That's pretty interesting.

I only seem to collect facts about my special interests.

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SoMissunderstood
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26 Jan 2015, 12:10 am

Jezebel wrote:

SoMissunderstood wrote:

Thanks.

My dad says I should go on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' because I can get all the questions right...well, everything except for anything that's got to do with politics or sport (and they'll probably ask me such questions which I won't know the answer to, so I said no).

I can recall anything I have ever read or heard and I am not interested in politics or sport, so I haven't got that information to start with.

My special ability also frustrates me no end when I can recall a conversation from a week ago...and it goes something like this:

Date: last week

Friend/family member: "I'll do that for you next week"

*week passes*

Date: today

Me (to friend/family member): "remember last week...it was 2:32pm and we were having coffee and biscuits in the living room and you said "I'll do that for you next week" so, can you do it now?"

Friend/Family member: "I said no such thing".

Now, I know they said it and I cannot possibly be imagining it, but they deny having said that, so it means that it becomes their word against mine.

Then, because I know they either forgot or they are lying, I start to question my own memory and then my sanity.

It drives me up the wall....totally!

Last edited by SoMissunderstood on 26 Jan 2015, 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jezebel
Toucan
Toucan

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26 Jan 2015, 12:21 am

SoMissunderstood wrote:

Thanks.

My dad says I should go on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' because I can get all the questions right...well, everything except for anything that's got to do with politics or sport (and they'll probably ask me such questions which I won't know the answer to, so I said no).

I can recall anything I have ever read or heard and I am not interested in politics or sport, so I haven't got that information to start with.

My special ability also frustrates me no end when I can recall a conversation from a week ago...and it goes something like this:

Date: last week

Friend/family member: "I'll do that for you next week"

*week passes*

Date: today

Me (to friend/family member): "remember last week...it was 2:32pm and we were having coffee and biscuits in the living room and you said "I'll do that for you next week?" so, can you do it now?"

Friend/Family member: "I said no such thing".

Now, I know they said it and I cannot possibly be imagining it, but they deny having said that, so it means that it becomes their word against mine.

Then, because I know they either forgot or they are lying, I start to question my own memory and then my sanity.

It drives me up the wall....totally!

I agree with him!
If I was a trivia buff, I'd totally use that ability to try to earn some money

Then you could bribe people who forget... "Oh I'll give you a hundred dollars if you don't forget what you promised." I bet their memories will suddenly become better lol

_________________
Diagnosed with ADHD combined type (02/09/16) and ASD Level 1 (04/28/16).

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