memory
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memory
| Mon, 12-19-2005 - 1:15pm |
Hi all!!!
Just doing some thinking and thought I would throw this question out. Do all kids on the spectrum have good memories? Or does that vary? I seem to read alot about how our kids are able to memorize things exceptionally well.
Nathan is doing well with his reading, spelling, and sight words because of his memory. He has difficulty in math, but seems to grasp the concepts rather quickly once he learns it. Once he knows something....he knows it. He just takes a bit longer to "learn" certain things.
What about your kids?
michelle

Peter has a memory like an elephant.
He remembers the names of people he met years ago. He remembers their siblings names, mom's names... everything. He could probably name every child he ever went to school with since K, -including the ones who were in other classes. We can be about town or at soccer, and he will be "Hi-ing" all over the place: Carmine, Thomas, Ryan -kids I have never seen before! He knows EVERYONE! (and if you ask, they may have been to the same birthday party with Carmine a year ago)
He has an unerring sense of direction and can memorize routes very well. This is the opposite to me. I am completely useless, which frustrates him endlessly. "Mom, you have to go *that* way! Trust me!!" (but it's the wrong way down a one-way street).
It does take him a little longer to learn, but he is one of those kids who struggles for a bit, and then *click*. He can READ -all of a sudden. It is quite astonishing, and very rewarding. Like Nathan, (and like me) he needs to understand the concept before he can internalise and know it.
Siobhan is more methodical and a more consistint learner. She has a good memory, but it is not jaw-dropping in the way that Peter's is. She does have an uncanny knack for finding things, which I posessed as a child, but seem (unfortunately) to have outgrown. It's hard to explain, but it's like a photographic visual of where things are placed -even in drawers. Ask where anything is, and if she has *seen* it, -even weeks ago, she will zoom you straight to it.
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Same here....the memory and sense of direction. There was a birthday party recently and DS said to me "you eat prawns". I then remembered that at the same person's party last year, I ate prawns. Stuff like this happens all the time. I'd even go so far as to suspect that he's got a photographic memory.
I just wish I could share in the finding of lost stuff. While DS has a great memory, he doesn't understand the question "do you know where it is?"
Nathan's memory is great with school, names, places, things he's seen, and of course those phrases he memorizes!! lol But he can't find ANYTHING around the house. Can't remember where he puts his toys!! He's always carrying a little toy around with him....but if he sets it down, and gets distracted by something...like stimming...he completely loses it!!! Everyone in the house has to STOP and look for this tiny little toy!! He tries to keep his toys WITH him, as much as possible because he's afraid that someone will touch it or play with it. But he's always jumping from one thing to the next!!!!
He also can't find something if it is RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!!!! This irritates Tyler...massively!!! Nathan hasn't started giving me directions....but he will tell me if I'm not going the right way!!!
It is kinda nice though. When I can't remember something, I just ask Nathan.
michelle
Yup - Vaughn has an incredible memory. He does extremely well with spelling tests because he can memorize the spelling of words easily. He also remembers people, places, events, and where every single toy is from - especially his trains (his obsessive interest) - he has sooooooo many trains but he knows exactly which one came from the one truckstop gift store in Indiana that we stopped at 3 years ago on our way to Chicago or which one grandma brought home from her trip to California, etc. - LOL! But like Nathan, loses stuff easily and we have to drop everything to find it...especially around bedtime.
Christie
Sylvia has an extraordinary memory. She has to be taught EVERYTHING -- things that other kids pick up naturally, she needs to be taught -- but she can remember EVERYTHING she learns. It's pretty astounding. Of course, I need to be *really* careful what I say around her, because she'll never forget that I said it! ;-)
Jennifer
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Weston has an incredible memory and exceptionaly attention to detail at the same time. He's amazing at school. Home is a lot more difficult. He remembers things that I'd prefer he didn't and brings them out at terribly awkward times. He also memorizes things very quickly-- he's killer at memorizing lines for plays and poems and books, his delivery is not always the best tho.
Betsy
Jake also has an unbelievable memory. My DH said when he had to study for tests, all he would have to do was take a mental picture of the page in the book he was studying, later when he was taking the test he could in his mind go down the page to the part with the answer. Scary! I guess that's why he gets so frustrated with me because I'm so scatty and forget everything(LOL).
Teresa
Teresa,
I used to do that. I could see the study notes I had written in my head exactly how they appeared on the page and retrieve the answer. It was a great gift to have in college but it doesn't lead to learning so much as recall. Now I wish I would have really learned some of that stuff. Chase claims to have a terrible memory but like the rest can recall events from years past in great detail. My NT dd is the same way and even more remarkable in her ability to recall details. Chase has problems with names because he doesn't scan faces well so has a difficult time marrying names to people. I have four brothers and he calls them all uncle David. Vicky