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diff --git a/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md b/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md index 4828c94..ff9e9fc 100644 --- a/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md +++ b/content/entry/autism-and-memory.md @@ -10,17 +10,17 @@ In my entry, Coming Out as Autistic[2], I recall a few anecdotes which illustrat ## Short-Term Memory ### Anecdote 1: English Class -> My class was sent to the hall outside the English classroom. All us students got in a circle. We were trying to learn each other's names. I knew I wasn't good at things like that, so before the exercise even started, I asked the teacher to skip it. She told me to try anyways. +My class was sent to the hall outside the English classroom. All us students got in a circle. We were trying to learn each other's names. I knew I wasn't good at things like that, so before the exercise even started, I asked the teacher to skip it. She told me to try anyways. -> So one person began by stating their own name. Then the person to their left stated their own name and the name of those who stated their name before them. So on and so forth until one person stated everyone's names. +So one person began by stating their own name. Then the person to their left stated their own name and the name of those who stated their name before them. So on and so forth until one person stated everyone's names. -> Things were going smoothly until it was my turn. Despite paying full attention, I could only remember the names of a couple students directly to my right. When I couldn't recall more names, the other students laughed at me. +Things were going smoothly until it was my turn. Despite paying full attention, I could only remember the names of a couple students directly to my right. When I couldn't recall more names, the other students laughed at me. ### Anecdote 2: SIUe Help Desk -> When I got a bit older and started working at the SIUe help desk, I remember asking for a student's ID card. He placed it on my desk. I picked it up and checked it. Then I asked for his ID card again. He furrowed his brow and frowned. The ID card was still on my desk. Even though it had only been a few seconds, I'd forgotten he already gave it to me. I realized how it must've looked and quickly finished up. +When I got a bit older and started working at the SIUe help desk, I remember asking for a student's ID card. He placed it on my desk. I picked it up and checked it. Then I asked for his ID card again. He furrowed his brow and frowned. The ID card was still on my desk. Even though it had only been a few seconds, I'd forgotten he already gave it to me. I realized how it must've looked and quickly finished up. ### Anecdote 3: Verbal Instructions -> All throughout my life there were times I was quickly given a set of verbal instructions and failed to follow them because I couldn't remember them and I was too embarrassed to keep asking. At work, I didn't want to annoy my boss. At school, I didn't want to appear incompetent to teachers and classmates. +All throughout my life there were times I was quickly given a set of verbal instructions and failed to follow them because I couldn't remember them and I was too embarrassed to keep asking. At work, I didn't want to annoy my boss. At school, I didn't want to appear incompetent to teachers and classmates. ### Anecdote 4: Memory Game This next anecdote isn't from Coming Out as Autistic. It happened just recently and I wanted to include it. My elementary school aged first cousin once removed crushes me at the memory game every time. It's not just that she wins every time. Some kids are better than neurotypical adults at memory games. It's that, even with great effort, I struggle to remember the positions of more than a few cards at once. @@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ I remember being in class either in middle school or high school and we were ask As is consistent with the autism memory research, I also have very poor visual-spatial memory. Again, I'm going to take an excerpt from my previous entry 'Coming Out as Autistic': ### Anecdote 1: Bus Job -> After quitting the nursing home, I found a job at a bus company where I was responsible for watching over special needs students of all ages. Socializing with them wasn't too draining since special needs people tend to be more tolerant of differences than neurotypicals. But after months of working there, I still couldn't remember my bus route nor the order the students got on and off the bus nor where each student got dropped off. And the schedule kept changing, so every time I got a new bus driver who didn't know the route, it was a mess. +After quitting the nursing home, I found a job at a bus company where I was responsible for watching over special needs students of all ages. Socializing with them wasn't too draining since special needs people tend to be more tolerant of differences than neurotypicals. But after months of working there, I still couldn't remember my bus route nor the order the students got on and off the bus nor where each student got dropped off. And the schedule kept changing, so every time I got a new bus driver who didn't know the route, it was a mess. -> At first I tried to write down the students' names and the route on paper, but that didn't help me. So I tried using GPS to help new drivers navigate my route, but I was told that being on my phone wasn't allowed. I explained that I avoid using smartphones for things like texting anyways, but that didn't seem to matter. I still wasn't allowed to use it. +At first I tried to write down the students' names and the route on paper, but that didn't help me. So I tried using GPS to help new drivers navigate my route, but I was told that being on my phone wasn't allowed. I explained that I avoid using smartphones for things like texting anyways, but that didn't seem to matter. I still wasn't allowed to use it. For clarification, I did try to learn the route for weeks. I just couldn't remember it, no matter how hard I tried. |