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Watching #MatildaDeAngelis in Lidia Poët, it took me a while to realise she was in Citadel.
I'm #PossiblyAutistic and #ProbablyADHD but only just discovering this and putting things together at the ripe age of 53.
Does anyone experience face blindness?
It's not that I don't recognise people that I know well, but everyone else seems to just be a "type".
Or sometimes I can even look at someone I know well, really look at them closely, and I feel like I don't know them.
@AnAutieAtUni@beige.party@pete First, I’ll add the #ActuallyAutistic hashtag and tag the group @actuallyautistic - it’s totally ok for you to use these! That’s even if you’re still not sure if you’re autistic. It’s a way to ask the autistic community questions, along with the #AskingAutistics hashtag. The main ‘autism’ hashtag also works, but it tends to be used more by the autism industry, not necessarily by autistic people themselves.
And yes! Face blindness seems to be quite common for autistic people, to varying degrees. The word for it is prosopagnosia. You’re not alone there!
I’ve also heard the opposite - that some autistics are extraordinarily good at recognising faces. And this is because autism is a spectrum with people having traits that are often outside the ‘norm’ (statistically speaking) and that can go either way. But mostly I’ve heard autistic people talk about the challenges of face blindness versus strengths of facial recognition.
@AnAutieAtUni @actuallyautistic thanks JB, I really the group hashtag inclusion. I was aware of the distinction of industry and actual, and also for ADHD that self diagnosis was valid, but I felt that autism is something I needed to be careful with self diagnosis.
I'm hoping to have an assessment this year... I've got a referral, just need to make the appoinment.
@pete @AnAutieAtUni @actuallyautistic sorry for the Facebook link but... https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BiT6PEdEs/
@Cattz @AnAutieAtUni @actuallyautistic
Thanks! I get what they're saying, but I still have my doubts. If it was so obvious woudn't it be easy to get an assessment, and wouldn't many more people be diagnosed positive?
Also, it could just be survivorship bias. So, there may be plenty of people who are neuro-typical but have one or two traits commonly associated with atypicality, and they do wonder, but rule themselves out before getting as far as a formal assessment.
@pete I totally understand, but know that there are plenty of welcoming autistics who would be glad to discover your posts using those hashtags and help someone who is exploring whether or not they are autistic. I know there can be a few who gate-keep and in particularly unkind ways, and that’s really sad as it can be awful to experience that when exploring something potentially life changing. I know as I had this myself a few years ago when I was exploring autism and ADHD. Really hope you haven’t experienced that.
I’ve spent more time in the autistic communities than ADHD (I was most unsure about that dx for myself), but I wouldn’t be surprised if face blindness is something that occurs more for neurodivergent people (autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, dyscalculic, Tourette’s, etc., etc.)
@AnAutieAtUni @pete I made an inquiry about #prosopagnosia a short time ago that led to some VERY interesting responses. Check out this thread:
My concern is knowing myself to sometimes be overly precious and sensitive about things, I wouldn't want to inadvertantly trigger some random stranger on the Internet. I don't like upsetting people (unless they're proto-fascists! they can go sling their hook)
@pete Yes, I know what you mean. I’m super sensitive to potential conflicts too. No worries! You must do what you feel comfortable doing.
Hope the explorations go well… if “go well” is the right thing to say?!