I think it’s what is remembered. Autistic people can remember enormous amounts of inane detail about a subject they hyperfocus on, but can’t remember who they met 2 mins ago. Neurotypical people can remember names, but not the electrical wiring diagram of a toaster they had 20 years agos. So they say “autistic people have bad memories.”
Anecdotes: my neighbor growing up was autistic and he could navigate any major city off the top of his head. Ask him to give directions from one address to another and he’ll do it faster than MapQuest, all from memory. He could do this at 7. He couldn’t remember to ask for food when he was hungry or remember a lot of his homework details, but damn he knew some other stuff.
The two people i know with autism can remember a few categories of things. They remember those things very very well (different for each of them) but … then they cant remember anything else.
I was of the impression that individuals with autism had worse memories than average.
I think it’s what is remembered. Autistic people can remember enormous amounts of inane detail about a subject they hyperfocus on, but can’t remember who they met 2 mins ago. Neurotypical people can remember names, but not the electrical wiring diagram of a toaster they had 20 years agos. So they say “autistic people have bad memories.”
Anecdotes: my neighbor growing up was autistic and he could navigate any major city off the top of his head. Ask him to give directions from one address to another and he’ll do it faster than MapQuest, all from memory. He could do this at 7. He couldn’t remember to ask for food when he was hungry or remember a lot of his homework details, but damn he knew some other stuff.
I think I’m “nuerotypical” but I often forget people’s names. I think that’s pretty…typical as well.
Thanks! What’s the average recall accuracy of said toaster diagram?
The two people i know with autism can remember a few categories of things. They remember those things very very well (different for each of them) but … then they cant remember anything else.