short-term memory

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Well, mine is nearly zilch. I was just getting my work records/references for applying for a Wendy's of all places. Lost my cool (no one else was around - I live alone). The papers were in my shirt.

Does anyone else have a terrible time with short-term memory? Is this an ADD thing? An Aspie thing?

Yes, I do this, too. Sometimes forget where I just put something.

My all-time favorite is when I can't find my pen anywhere, only to find it behind my ear later.

And since I am Aspie and many Aspie traits overlap with 'normal,' how would I know whether this was aspie or 'normal'?

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Yes, have a noticeable problem especially with numbers as in math and phone numbers. By the way, the most insightful book I've come across about short-term memory is the How To (understand) Hyperactivity book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive / central auditory processing disorder by C. Thomas Wild. The book mentions a number of FDA approved medicines which had a noticeable, temporary impact on short-term memory (Tirend, NoDoz)(not a cure). Those meds literally plugged in/activated aspects of short-term memory (again, not a cure).

My short term memory is awful. I can be holding a pen in my hand and forget where it is and I will search frantically for it only to set it down infront of me and realize I was holding it the entire time. Another example is I will be reading for something and I will forget that I was reaching for and I have to think back to what I was doing. There are times that I walk into the bathroom and forget why I walked in there. It can get frustrating, but it only gets this bad when I am really distracted with ideas, projects or stress.

My long term memory is fantastic though, it's not photographic, but it's pretty close.

Pretty much the same here. But some of this may be related to "object blindness", something I have read about and sometimes have.

I mentioned before that I have a great memory for internet conversations from months ago.

I have a great long term memory but no short term memory.

But is it more ADD related or more Asperger's related?

That exact thing happened to me a lot of years ago when I was a kid at school. I couldn't my pen all day until the teacher said that it was on my ear. I thought that she was lying, but then I checked some seconds later and it was there.

I do that a lot... I smoke, and sometimes I'll take out my lighter, hold it, take out a cigarette, put it in my mouth, go through my bag, not find my lighter, go through my pockets, not find my lighter, go through my bag again, still not find my lighter, wave my hands in desperation and begin to ask (if I'm with others) if anyone else has a lighter I can borrow, and then I'll see a flash of plastic in my hand and stop halfway through my sentence as I realise I've been holding it the whole time. I also decide to do things that don't work when I'm holding something. For example, last weekend I went to wave at someone whilst holding a drink. I seem to forget mostly that i'm holding things

But I always forget what I just said, or what I just did, or what I came into the kitchen for, or what you just said, or any of that stuff... that's my particular reason for having trouble with verbal instructions. I forget what was said. I also forget what I've read from written instructions, but of course you can re-read those so there's no problem there...

I'd say more ADD related. My sister and her daughter are like that and they both have ADD but not AS, I on the other hand never forget where I put things unless I for some reason didn't put them in their usual place (and in that case I only forget if they have a usual place). Down to looking for their glasses while wearing them, which I find quite impressive.

I do sometimes forget why I went to do a specific task, but that's usually because once I was in that place I started doing stuff I usually do out of habit and got too engrossed in that which isn't quite the same as just forgetting things. It's more like when you're driving somewhere you're not used to going to, and then you stop and you realize that you just drove to a completely different place because the route was partly similar and you're more used to going to where you are now. The mind just goes on autopilot.

That's probably from all the coke.

I haven't had a very good short term memory since being kicked in the head by a horse, it wasn't very good before that, but since then it's been somewhat lacking.

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Short-term memory

ADHD Inattentive
ADHD Inattentive / central auditory processing disorder (CAPD)
Some of the subtle epilepsies such as petit/absence/TLE/complex partial

Side-effect of:

Brain injury
Sports concussions
Rollover car accidents

etc.

Capacity of the hippocampus / related areas in the brain to temporarily store data. (The idea of memory goes well beyond the hippocampus only).

and so on.

Asperger's

Autism

Short-term memory is more related to ADHD Inattentive / ADD / central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) than it is only to Asperger's (my view).

That does not mean that some persons with Asperger's / Autism do not have noticeable, real difficulties with short-term memory/aspects of short-term memory.

It is a lot easier to discuss problems with short-term memory than it is to easily fix short-term memory problems.

The single classification of medicines which seems to be most closely associated with temporary improvements (not a cure) to short-term memory is the central nervous system stimulants/alerting agents (examples: coffee, caffeine compounds, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall and so on)(again, no cures). The stimulants/alerting agents work for a few persons (not everyone).

That's my understanding.