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Short term memory issues

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Lorrent
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12 Jul 2018, 7:49 am

I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


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BeaArthur
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12 Jul 2018, 8:58 am

Yes, there could be a relation to ASD.

I often take notes when I am in a meeting or class. Sometimes the speaker will say "this is in the handout, you don't have to take notes" but what they don't realize is that taking notes helps me process the information. Telling me not to take notes amounts to saying "My speech is not important, it's ok if it goes in one ear and out the other." Which is literally (figuratively) what happens when I only get the information in oral form.


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12 Jul 2018, 9:22 am

Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


Same here, its a very common autistic trait. My short term memory is crap, but my long term memory is iron clad. Also, I have what I call "episodic memory". I can see events in my mind, almost like replaying a movie. Its not idetic memory but its close.

I also have problems with procedural memory for things I've not done before, which I think is related to the ST memory problems.


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Lorrent
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12 Jul 2018, 9:24 am

BeaArthur wrote:
Yes, there could be a relation to ASD.

I often take notes when I am in a meeting or class. Sometimes the speaker will say "this is in the handout, you don't have to take notes" but what they don't realize is that taking notes helps me process the information. Telling me not to take notes amounts to saying "My speech is not important, it's ok if it goes in one ear and out the other." Which is literally (figuratively) what happens when I only get the information in oral form.


Yes I don‘t like handouts too. They are full with unnecessary stuff. When I don‘t mark important parts by myself, I have to read it over and over again. Maybe you got that too?

I also don‘t like it when people say stuff like: „put XY over there“. I hate vague instructions. I then instinctively ask „where exactly?“


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MagicKnight
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12 Jul 2018, 9:32 am

Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


I relate to that, definitely. I can remember stuff from when I was like, a toddler. If one asks me where did I last put my keys though, I can't answer. I developed many behavioural mechanisms to compensate this problem.



Lorrent
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12 Jul 2018, 9:34 am

RainbowUnion wrote:
Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


Same here, its a very common autistic trait. My short term memory is crap, but my long term memory is iron clad. Also, I have what I call "episodic memory". I can see events in my mind, almost like replaying a movie. Its not idetic memory but its close.

I also have problems with procedural memory for things I've not done before, which I think is related to the ST memory problems.


I got a good episodic memory too. But it strangely only works with certain memories. Often associated with buildings. Or other geographic stuff like mountains. I often rember how some hollyday locations looked. But I cannot remember, with who I was there, and what we talked about.


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Lorrent
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12 Jul 2018, 9:36 am

MagicKnight wrote:
Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


I relate to that, definitely. I can remember stuff from when I was like, a toddler. If one asks me where did I last put my keys though, I can't answer. I developed many behavioural mechanisms to compensate this problem.


Yes same issues. I normally don‘t like strict routines, but I started to put my keys always at the same spot when I come home from work. Same for everything else. It keeps my stress levels low.


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12 Jul 2018, 9:43 am

MagicKnight wrote:
If one asks me where did I last put my keys though, I can't answer.

This can be a form of inattention as much as a memory problem, too, and probably worse for those of us with executive functioning impairments. In effect, once you have finished using your keys, your brain flushes your working memory and queues up the next thing that you need to do. Your hand then puts your keys down "on autopilot" without your conscious mind paying attention to doing it - the only command received by your brain is; "free up that hand using the least brain power possible". So, it's not always that there's a problem with memory, but that your brain didn't even make a memory in the first place - there is nothing there to remember. This kind of "inattention blindness" is something which can happen to anyone if they're overloaded with tasks, but the prevalence of EF/attentional issues which autistic people commonly experience probably makes it far more likely to happen to us. I always keep my keys on a key-chain attached to my belt for this very reason, even when I'm just pottering around the house all day.


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12 Jul 2018, 9:48 am

Trogluddite wrote:
MagicKnight wrote:
If one asks me where did I last put my keys though, I can't answer.

This can be a form of inattention as much as a memory problem, too, and probably worse for those of us with executive functioning impairments. In effect, once you have finished using your keys, your brain flushes your working memory and queues up the next thing that you need to do. Your hand then puts your keys down "on autopilot" without your conscious mind paying attention to doing it - the only command received by your brain is; "free up that hand using the least brain power possible". So, it's not always that there's a problem with memory, but that your brain didn't even make a memory in the first place - there is nothing there to remember. This kind of "inattention blindness" is something which can happen to anyone if they're overloaded with tasks, but the prevalence of EF/attentional issues which autistic people commonly experience probably makes it far more likely to happen to us. I always keep my keys on a key-chain attached to my belt for this very reason, even when I'm just pottering around the house all day.


Totally agreed with all of this. Once I finish a task, all the brain power devoted to it is purged almost instantly. I have huge issues with operational blindness, as in missing things that are in plain sight. The brains processing equipment is just engaged on SOMETHING ELSE and nothing else matters. This got me punished as a child because I was so clearly lazy or lying for missing items that were *RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF ME IN PLAIN SIGHT*.


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12 Jul 2018, 10:00 am

Trogluddite wrote:
MagicKnight wrote:
If one asks me where did I last put my keys though, I can't answer.

This can be a form of inattention as much as a memory problem, too, and probably worse for those of us with executive functioning impairments. In effect, once you have finished using your keys, your brain flushes your working memory and queues up the next thing that you need to do. Your hand then puts your keys down "on autopilot" without your conscious mind paying attention to doing it - the only command received by your brain is; "free up that hand using the least brain power possible". So, it's not always that there's a problem with memory, but that your brain didn't even make a memory in the first place - there is nothing there to remember. This kind of "inattention blindness" is something which can happen to anyone if they're overloaded with tasks, but the prevalence of EF/attentional issues which autistic people commonly experience probably makes it far more likely to happen to us. I always keep my keys on a key-chain attached to my belt for this very reason, even when I'm just pottering around the house all day.


Yes, I totally agree with you. I'd go to the lengths of saying that it's probably more an attention related issue than a memory problem.



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12 Jul 2018, 10:57 am

A couple of concepts related to memory:

Short-term memory might be taken to include what you had for breakfast today, who you went for coffee with yesterday, or did you remember to change the oil in your car like you planned?

But working memory is also flawed in me. Working memory is holding a concept or block of information in temporary storage long enough to do something with it - on the order of seconds perhaps. It would be like when you are writing down a phone number, doing mental arithmetic, or holding a question in memory until your conversation partner finishes talking.

I am not TOO bad at short-term memory, but I'm continually troubled by my poor working memory. I usually have to triple check anything using working memory or write something down immediately, or it's GONE.

The other memory concept I want to mention is "muscle memory." I don't know if I am using the term correctly or even if it's a real thing, but I use the concept to develop strategies that work. Let's say you customarily keep your stapler to the right of your computer chair and your phone to the left. Then when the phone rings or you need to staple something, you reach right for the tool you need, without thinking about it. If for some reason the phone or stapler have been moved, it interrupts your train of thought. I call that muscle memory ... something you can do without much brain involvement.

Like I said, I don't know if that's a real thing or correct name, but I do know that it can be profitably built into routines that, likewise, can be executed with a lot less mental effort.


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12 Jul 2018, 1:49 pm

BeaArthur wrote:
A couple of concepts related to memory:

Short-term memory might be taken to include what you had for breakfast today, who you went for coffee with yesterday, or did you remember to change the oil in your car like you planned?

But working memory is also flawed in me. Working memory is holding a concept or block of information in temporary storage long enough to do something with it - on the order of seconds perhaps. It would be like when you are writing down a phone number, doing mental arithmetic, or holding a question in memory until your conversation partner finishes talking.

I am not TOO bad at short-term memory, but I'm continually troubled by my poor working memory. I usually have to triple check anything using working memory or write something down immediately, or it's GONE.

The other memory concept I want to mention is "muscle memory." I don't know if I am using the term correctly or even if it's a real thing, but I use the concept to develop strategies that work. Let's say you customarily keep your stapler to the right of your computer chair and your phone to the left. Then when the phone rings or you need to staple something, you reach right for the tool you need, without thinking about it. If for some reason the phone or stapler have been moved, it interrupts your train of thought. I call that muscle memory ... something you can do without much brain involvement.

Like I said, I don't know if that's a real thing or correct name, but I do know that it can be profitably built into routines that, likewise, can be executed with a lot less mental effort.


I know what you mean by muscle memory, and its very real. My vehicle has the gear shift on the steering column. If I am in a vehicle that has it mounted elsewhere, I find myself still reaching for it on the steering column.

As for procedural memory, once I've done something a few times its no problem, but the first few run throughs are awful.


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12 Jul 2018, 4:43 pm

Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


You probably have a harder time remembering oral stuff because you’re most likely a visual learner. That’s my experience as well.

I think my ADHD that accompanies my ASD makes it harder to concentrate on one thing at a time which makes remembering stuff harder. I’m often preoccupied and thinking about a special interest instead of what I should be thinking about at the time.


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12 Jul 2018, 4:48 pm

Twilightprincess wrote:
Lorrent wrote:
I tend to forget a lot, especially oral stuff. I got no problems with long term memory tho.
Anyone else here got this? Could there be a relation to asd?


You probably have a harder time remembering oral stuff because you’re most likely a visual learner. That’s my experience as well.

I think my ADHD that accompanies my ASD makes it harder to concentrate on one thing at a time which makes remembering stuff harder. I’m often preoccupied and thinking about a special interest instead of what I should be thinking about at the time.


Yes. Autistics tend to be very visual thinkers, and I am no exception. That's why verbal info tends to just go in one ear and out the other with us--its not that we are not paying attention, at least not on purpose. Its that the neural processing of the info is not happening at nearly the same level that it would with NTs. That's why taking notes works for us--because it gives us something we can SEE. You should see my reading and lecture notes from school--people have told me that they are so good with condensed study detail that I could sell them as a learning supplement.


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12 Jul 2018, 4:50 pm

Another thing in the visual vein--if I cant see an object, the brain tends to not process it on other levels, even if I know where it is and etc. This makes trying to find things out of view a pain.


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12 Jul 2018, 7:18 pm

i'm literally Dori :| i can't remember anything short term. it's a real challenge in class when i'm given instruction - especially because i focus on things i find interesting - and that may be something entirely stupid like eating my pen or the quirks of my lecturer or how the word "error" is so hard to pronounce -


errr.. what was the question again?


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