Autism - Memory

[Imaginosity]

Everyone says DS is bright (not a genius or anything) but sometimes his brain seems really foggy that I wonder what exactly is going onion there. He's 6 and has high functioning autism.

When he's interested in something he's engaged and interactive - like anything to do with science or Lego or movies etc. But when something is of no interest like sports things he sees as 'for girls' then he looks so distant like he's on another planet.

He often seems to have poor recollection of people's names. We visit his cousins who live 3 hours away about once every two months. He always remembers the name of the boy close in age to him who plays games he likes. He has no interest in the girl cousins and I wonder how much he even registers their existence. Last night we were looking at photos of his cousins and we asked DS who they were - he looked completely blank like he'd never seen them before. Then DP said he'd give DS some coins for his piggy bank if he clould say their names - and weirdly, because he was motivated, he managed to engage and come up with the correct names. I was really surprised - and kind of reassured.

Dd3 has to be motivated to remember stuff. If she isnt interested she wont remember.

I struggle with face recognition, it is a real pain sometimes. I often need to hear people speak to know if I know them. Luckily people I see regularly I do remember.

My ds has difficulty recognising people. I think he recognises people by their hair, clothes and voice.

Names don't seem to be important to him but he does seem to learn peoples names eventually once he has spent a lot of time with them. It is interesting that your ds could say the names after being offered money.

I've come to the conclusion (as an adult) I probably have aspergers. As a child, I used to do this thing where I'd 'zone out' - I'd make my eyes go out of focus, and let my mind go blank (or sometimes I'd think). I was always getting told off for 'daydreaming' at school. I think it was a kind of coping mechanism - a way of making some space for myself. I still catch myself doing it sometimes but try not to as it must look pretty strange.
I still forget people's names, but I could tell you what they were wearing or what they looked like. Though like your son, if I put my mind to it I could probably try and remember - I'd have to think about conversations I'd had where that person's name was mentioned, or times I'd heard someone else speaking to them. I can remember names when I've had to use them in conversation - if I haven't ever had purpose to say someone's name, it's not quite in my memory.