Do Any of You Have Problems with Facial Recognition?

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There IS help? What kind?

I usually don't show it. If someone greets me, I greet him too. If he start talk with me then I wait if he tell something about where I do know him. And I don't much address people with their names.

When I was somewhere with my mother as child, we met some neighbor and I didn't recognize him, my mother always wondered why I don't know him and asked why I don't know, who he is. I didn't know why, I didn't know explain it her. For sure I started greet all people in our village to avoid this questions.

When one my neighbor started work at my school as janitor, she asked me why I didn't tell it her. I didn't know it. When she told me the janitor is our neighbor, I started to notice him at school and at his house.

Recently she showed me some man in newspaper. I told her I don't know him. She was upset because she thought this man looks similar like her brother (but the man in newspaper was not my uncle and he had different hair). I really don't know why she was upset.

I think Claradoon was referring to the white cane obtained through the social worker...

If a person that I know ( even quite well ) does something as basic as puts on a hat, I'm usually flumoxed.

Also if someone that I always see in a hat, is suddenly not wearing said hat - I almost definitely won't know who they are.

Yes, that's it exactly. In the situations I'm thinking of, I would walk right by somebody that I know, because I can't recognize anybody. So they think I've snubbed them! But the white cane is a signal.

The white cane. Somehow I have the impression that you might not like that idea? I know some people that won't use a cane for any reason. I also have a button on my baseball cap - it says, "I'm not ignoring you, I have autism." I placed it on the cap so I can't see if anybody's reading it. I thought that would make them less self-conscious about reading my hat. But the effect was wonderful! In the grocery store, the mall, crowded places like that - people are so much nicer.

Well, those are interesting ideas. They wouldn't be useful to me, because I already have way too much "gear" (due to my physical disabilities), but I am glad they work for you, Claradoon.

Perhaps but you don't need to be 100% totally pitch black darkness blind to qualify for a white cane. So if someone is upset that you have one and that you have some kind of vision, that is their problem not yours. If the association for the blind offered one to you because you don't have facial vision or recognition, then you are, by all means, allowed to accept it. There are many blind people who are legally blind but still have some vision and some of them use white canes. So it's nobody's business why you have one. If you were given one, you are allowed to have it.

Good idea!

I know, but some people maybe not. Once in bus I heard some woman with white cane to talk about how someone had scolded her, because he realized she see something.
And if you otherwise see good and you don't need white cane for find a way, people may notice it.

I was an academic lecturer at an art college for a while and on the evening of the graduate degree exhibition I stood in the corridor staring at the promotional poster made up of the students’ portraits and names. My sister was all ‘you’re spending more time looking at that than the work!’ I was desperately trying to ‘crash-learn’ the students faces and tally their names with same as most of them were going to be total strangers to me simply because of the unique social environment. The stress. I’ve even failed to recognize a student because she hadn’t her hair in a pony tail, which she always wore everyday...except the very day she had to see me for a tutorial. Slightly awkward to say the least...

I remember faces pretty well, granted that I've either had a conversation with owner of said face or they were part of a memorable event. I'm poor with actors and people I don't like.

For me, eye contact isn't the absolute worse so during a conversation, I sometimes meet the eyes, other times I shift over the face for pronounced features: especially sloped shoulders, bright eyes, droopy eyelids, weird mole, thin lips, etc. I have to keep up the conversation for at least 20 minutes or I don't remember.

I am more likely to forget a face. Not sure this is a problem or a cure for NT Personality Disorder but... Yeah.

I have the same problem! I often forget facial details, especially if somebody else has a similar race/ethnic background. How I recognize people is usually their hair, clothing, or small details about their stance or appearance. So, if somebody I can recognize gets their hair cut it throws me off, and it takes my mind a while to register the person. With people I know well, it is easier for me to recognize them. It may take a few seconds though if I’m in a crowded area. I also have this problem where I KNOW what somebody looks like, but I can’t picture them at all in my mind. When I try to it’s just a face with no features.

For me, Prosopagnia means that every time I see a face, it's the first time I see that face, even if it's family.
Yes, there can be clues but mine could be the red boots as well as the red hair. And neither is guaranteed recognition. The big relief for me was that I don't have to try so hard.

Yes I have a problem recognizing faces of people unless I see them regularly or I've known them for a long time. If I meet someone only once, unless they have very unique features, they could walk past me at some later point and I won't recognize them.