The alienating 'hello'

By Donna Williams
April 2, 2006

Swept up in pattern by Donna WilliamsWe all have had that experience where we know someone but just can’t remember where we know them from. Face Blindness is like this except it happens all the time, even with people you know really really well.

When I was a child I recognised people by the color they wore. I’d get lost constantly in the supermarket, taking hold of some stranger’s clothing only to end up distressed because their voice or walking style then didn’t match the one I expected from the person who was meant to have this color, the one who’d brought me there.

So I learned to find the bok section and hang out with the shiny covers and good smells.

As an adult people would wave to me in the street and say hi. I’d look away, scared of these strangers. Later a friend would see me in a familiar setting and snub me and I wouldn’t understand what I’d done wrong. It seems I’d ignored them in the street.

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For information, resources, practical strategies on autism please visit:

http://www.autismconcepts.com/

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