Trouble Recogninzing Faces

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I always had a problem with mixing up people who looked even remotely similar. I just can't distinguish facial features very well,a nd it's so embarrassing!

I have the same problem. I've learned to just tell people, adn they're very accepting. When you meet someone new, say, "I have a really hard time recognizing people. You might have to remind me wh oyou are when I see you next, and I'll remember then." They're always fine about it.

I posted recently about facial recognition as well.

I have some difficulty if people have similiar features. Most people say that they are bad with names, but great with faces. I am okay at names, but bad with faces.

It is not that I am uninterested in each person, it is because I suck at recognition.

OMG! This is SO funny because I was literally just talking about this with my therapist! I belong to a quilting guild. The majority of women in the guild are significantly older than me. I would guess that the average age is likely some place between 55 to 65.... maybe older. Long story short... I see this "woman" all over town. She always knows my name and remembers things about me. It makes me feel terrible because I know that she is from my guild, but I have no idea who "she" is. How this works is like this..... this "woman" is actually several different women that all look alike to me! I know they have to be from my guild because those are the only little old lady types that I know. I was telling my therapist that there are a few different "models" and they all look more or less the same to me. There is the short, chubby older woman with short, white, curly hair..... there is the taller, chubby older woman with short, white, curly hair...... there is the lean model and she comes in various heights and has more or less the same hair as the rest of them. Once in a while you will meet one with long hair that is up in a bun or something like that..... these women I can remember. I feel terrible about the rest, however. Inevitably, one of these women will start in on something that they said to me when they saw me out and about town. I am at a total loss because I have no idea who she is because they all look the same. Sometimes they look at me weird because I don't remember what they said to me the last time I saw them. It is awful and it makes me feel nervous when I go to the meetings. I have recently started to level with them and let them know that I am terrible with faces and even worse with names. So far so good.......

Weird, isn't it?

Look up prosopagnosia or faceblindness online. It's sort of like color blindness but with faces. I've wondered if I have it and think I might a little but at the same time faces are so intense that looking at someone's face is like staring at the sun. So a lot of times I don't recognize people by faces unless I am around them a lot and can use their voice, mannerisms, etc to recognize them.

I have been having to tell this to people for years...it can be really embarrassing at times....I had wondered why I have had this difficulty for long before I knew that I might be on the spectrum...It is one of the traits that always set me apart from the typical "ADDer" I always thought I was.

Yeah, I've gotten myself into a few very embarassing situations over the past 3 months due to my inability to recognize faces. I can do it to an extent, such as knowing the faces of my teachers and several classmates whom I've known for years. But I guess everybody can do that...
I usually distinguish people by the style of clothing they wear, their hair, or any other things that are characteristic of them. This is one reason why I'm glad that our school doesn't have uniforms. Stupid, I know.

I have a problem somewhat similar to this. I am not too bad at recognising people when they are where they are supposed to be. ie parents of children in my childs class are at school. However if I see them anywhere else I get confused.Because we live in a small country town I see the same people everywhere and this is the problem.

I see them coming and I have to think very hard to know who they are. In those seconds to minutes that it takes me to figure out who they are and sometimes remember their name (sometimes not) They must assume I am ignoring them or pretending I didn't see them. In the space of 2 years that we have lived in this town there are very few people who will still say hello when they see me. I am not a big people person and very caught up in what I need to get done, so this all does not worry me greatly. My idea of a perfect world would be if people only taked to me if they needed to say something important or get some information from me, otherwise a quick nod would be just great.

I just have a problem with this because people automatically seem to think if you don't say hello then you must hate them. I don't think this is a logical conclusion at all but one commonly made. I don't hate them they do not even enter my thoughts.I don't really care that much, people can and will think what they like. I can say or do or not say or do anything and people will interpret it how they choose. I cannot be responsible for others thought processes. However some people take it further and my kids are effected by it also. This is obviously not fair or right and I get very angry about it. Then other times I think it is possible that people like this and their children are no great loss anyway, I don't want my kids around them.

This is exactly the problem that I have with my quilting guild. I also live in a small rural town that only has about 5000 people in it. I see people all the time and have to really stop and think about who they are and how I know them. I generally just smile and act overtly friendly so that they don't notice that I am actually thinking "who the hell are you and what do you want with me". It seems to work well for me most of the time. These quilting guild women are a little different, however. They take it a little more personal when I can't recall how I know them. I think they think we have some sort of bond because we are in a "club" together. I just hope that I can come up with a way to remember who everyone is! I have been trying to find distinguishing features, styles of dress, jewelry..... things like that. The main problem with this strategy is that people don't always wear the same stuff all the time. I am hoping that as winter sets in I might be able to use coats to help me out. People don't tend to have too many different coats......... it could work.

Interesting side note.....

For some reason, I have a great memory for famous people. I seem to recognize them..... maybe it is because I see them plastered all over the TV and the magazine racks at the grocery store? I don't know.... There are a few celebrities out there that I get mixed up because they have similar looks about them, but for the most part..... I can remember who they are. I wonder why that is? Maybe the repetition?