I have a hard time remembering/reproducing/summarizing information

[AuroraBorealis]

Hi, does this sound familiar to you? Do you experience this as well?

For some reason, I have a very hard time reproducing information I've seen or read. I can read books/articles/watch videos about history, geography, astronomy, topics I find very interesting, and understand everything while I watch/listen/read it. But the second I'm done and want to tell someone about it, it's like my mind's been wiped blank. I can't summarize anything or even remember smaller things. Only after watching/reading several times about a topic, I slowly start to be able to actually reproduce some of it.
It seems very weird to me because I am technically very intelligent. But for some reason, it's like my mind doesn't "want" to remember new information. I have to work quite hard, reading several times about a topic, to be able to spontaneously say a few sentences about it. In my mind, if I keep reading about it, it's all there and it's easy for me to keep up. But the second I close the book/article/laptop and want to actively remember and reproduce some of it, it's gone, unless it's a topic I've been familiar with for a longer time now.

This doesn't apply when it comes to medicine/human physiology/biochemistry/psychiatry etc., but those are also things I have been studying for almost 10 years now (including high school) so I have quite a good groundwork there. But when I want to learn more about other, newer interests, like the ones mentioned above, my mind feels like a sieve.

Maybe I'm just surrounded by super-smart people who suck up every piece of new information. Maybe this is normal. But it just seems strange to me because it makes me feel dumb when I'm around other people who talk about something else than medicine/psychiatry. It feels like I'm constantly faking and pretending to know about general knowledge stuff, trying to stay non-committal so I don't get caught. Only, I know I'm not dumb. I've read about a lot of these things. But, for some reason, they fall through my mind and I can't verbalize them. I have quite a hard time in general to summarize things I did/read about, also like holidays or activities. It's like my mind's blocked, doesn't know where to start. I know what I did, but I can't spontaneously start babbling about it. I get confused, tangled up and don't know which parts are important and which are not.

All this feels very frustrating because it's keeping me from reading up on new topics I find interesting, because I keep thinking "I won't remember any of this anyway, so what's the point". Obviously, that's not helpful and also sad, since I am very curious and interested in many different things.

Sorry if this post seems a bit confused, but I didn't quite know how to better describe it. Thank you for reading!

 

[Misty Avich]

I'm the same as you. It's why I often doubt my diagnosis, because everywhere I read about autism we're supposed to have good focus on facts and information and be better able to store it. For example, if an autistic person is interested in planes, typically they're supposed to have that ability to focus on learning information about planes, memorising the learned information, then be able to easily repeat the information to others. It may sound like a stereotype but it does seem like typical autism behaviour or symptom.
But me, no matter how interested I am in something, I still am unable to focus that well and store information, even when I was a child.
When I was 12 I got an obsession with Spanish. It became my favourite subject in school and I was so determined to learn to speak Spanish fluently because I just loved it so much and it just fascinated me for some reason. But after spending all my pocket money on books and CDs about learning Spanish, and a book all about Spain, I found I just couldn't sit and focus on learning the language, and I never even touched the book about Spain, and I struggled in the Spanish classes at school, just like I did in all the other subjects.
Then I lost interest altogether.

The only things my brain is good at storing is spellings, people's names and birthdays, and memories. Loads and loads of memories.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I chalk mine up to an ADHD / ASD split. Have you considered this possibility?

Most information goes in one ear and out the other for me, unless it's a special interest. It's like my ASD is a caveat for my ADHD tendencies. This can explain things if you've ever seen comparison charts and see yourself zigzagging between the two symptom sets, but obviously talking with a professional (or multiple) is the only way to be sure.

 

[Xinyta]

You are not the only one that struggles with this. I get told things, read things, watch things. But unless I really am engaged in whatever it is, I lose any memory of it pretty quickly. I literally need to interact with something more than 10 times to have a remote memory of it at all. I rarely am THAT commited to doing that though.

This frustrates my Uncle to no end, because he knows I am smart and can say/recall things that he says 'I should have no business knowing' with how I act.

In turn this frustrates me, because I want to be able to just 'get it'. But that doesn't ever seem to be possible first try.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I'm the same as you. It's why I often doubt my diagnosis, because everywhere I read about autism we're supposed to have good focus on facts and information and be better able to store it. For example, if an autistic person is interested in planes, typically they're supposed to have that ability to focus on learning information about planes, memorising the learned information, then be able to easily repeat the information to others. It may sound like a stereotype but it does seem like typical autism behaviour or symptom.
But me, no matter how interested I am in something, I still am unable to focus that well and store information, even when I was a child.
When I was 12 I got an obsession with Spanish. It became my favourite subject in school and I was so determined to learn to speak Spanish fluently because I just loved it so much and it just fascinated me for some reason. But after spending all my pocket money on books and CDs about learning Spanish, and a book all about Spain, I found I just couldn't sit and focus on learning the language, and I never even touched the book about Spain, and I struggled in the Spanish classes at school, just like I did in all the other subjects.
Then I lost interest altogether.

The only things my brain is good at storing is spellings, people's names and birthdays, and memories. Loads and loads of memories.

Thank you for answering.
When I am really, like, REALLY interested in something, I get hyperfixations (don't know if that's what they are, but they feel like it, so I'm calling them that). I got it after stopping the pill, about everything I could find on female reproductive health, female cycle, etc. When suspecting autism, I got it about autism. When I get into a book or TV series (like "Warriors" as a kid, "Harry Potter", "Friends", "The Queen's Gambit"), I also get hyperfixated. In these cases, I "feel" like the stereotypical autist, sucking up all information and actually being able to remember and reproduce it (only, in my surroundings, no one really wants to hear about it so I keep quiet).

But in every other field, I feel like I described above. It's like, when I'm not hyperfixated on something, I can't remember it.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I chalk mine up to an ADHD / ASD split. Have you considered this possibility?

Most information goes in one ear and out the other for me, unless it's a special interest. It's like my ASD is a caveat for my ADHD tendencies. This can explain things if you've ever seen comparison charts and see yourself zigzagging between the two symptom sets, but obviously talking with a professional (or multiple) is the only way to be sure.

Yeah, I actually did consider this possibility. I do see myself zigzagging between the sets, depending on which part of my life I look at.
However, after acing school and successfully getting through uni, I never seriously considered it. It would feel even more like imposter-syndrome than my autism diagnosis. I'll think about it, though.

 

[Cassandra65]

Hi, does this sound familiar to you? Do you experience this as well?

For some reason, I have a very hard time reproducing information I've seen or read. I can read books/articles/watch videos about history, geography, astronomy, topics I find very interesting, and understand everything while I watch/listen/read it. But the second I'm done and want to tell someone about it, it's like my mind's been wiped blank. I can't summarize anything or even remember smaller things. Only after watching/reading several times about a topic, I slowly start to be able to actually reproduce some of it.
It seems very weird to me because I am technically very intelligent. But for some reason, it's like my mind doesn't "want" to remember new information. I have to work quite hard, reading several times about a topic, to be able to spontaneously say a few sentences about it. In my mind, if I keep reading about it, it's all there and it's easy for me to keep up. But the second I close the book/article/laptop and want to actively remember and reproduce some of it, it's gone, unless it's a topic I've been familiar with for a longer time now.

This doesn't apply when it comes to medicine/human physiology/biochemistry/psychiatry etc., but those are also things I have been studying for almost 10 years now (including high school) so I have quite a good groundwork there. But when I want to learn more about other, newer interests, like the ones mentioned above, my mind feels like a sieve.

Maybe I'm just surrounded by super-smart people who suck up every piece of new information. Maybe this is normal. But it just seems strange to me because it makes me feel dumb when I'm around other people who talk about something else than medicine/psychiatry. It feels like I'm constantly faking and pretending to know about general knowledge stuff, trying to stay non-committal so I don't get caught. Only, I know I'm not dumb. I've read about a lot of these things. But, for some reason, they fall through my mind and I can't verbalize them. I have quite a hard time in general to summarize things I did/read about, also like holidays or activities. It's like my mind's blocked, doesn't know where to start. I know what I did, but I can't spontaneously start babbling about it. I get confused, tangled up and don't know which parts are important and which are not.

All this feels very frustrating because it's keeping me from reading up on new topics I find interesting, because I keep thinking "I won't remember any of this anyway, so what's the point". Obviously, that's not helpful and also sad, since I am very curious and interested in many different things.

Sorry if this post seems a bit confused, but I didn't quite know how to better describe it. Thank you for reading!

I've been taking ginseng for the last 18 months or so, and have found that my memory and fact retrieval have become much better

 

[kriss72]

Hi, does this sound familiar to you? Do you experience this as well?

For some reason, I have a very hard time reproducing information I've seen or read. I can read books/articles/watch videos about history, geography, astronomy, topics I find very interesting, and understand everything while I watch/listen/read it. But the second I'm done and want to tell someone about it, it's like my mind's been wiped blank. I can't summarize anything or even remember smaller things. Only after watching/reading several times about a topic, I slowly start to be able to actually reproduce some of it.
It seems very weird to me because I am technically very intelligent. But for some reason, it's like my mind doesn't "want" to remember new information. I have to work quite hard, reading several times about a topic, to be able to spontaneously say a few sentences about it. In my mind, if I keep reading about it, it's all there and it's easy for me to keep up. But the second I close the book/article/laptop and want to actively remember and reproduce some of it, it's gone, unless it's a topic I've been familiar with for a longer time now.

This doesn't apply when it comes to medicine/human physiology/biochemistry/psychiatry etc., but those are also things I have been studying for almost 10 years now (including high school) so I have quite a good groundwork there. But when I want to learn more about other, newer interests, like the ones mentioned above, my mind feels like a sieve.

Maybe I'm just surrounded by super-smart people who suck up every piece of new information. Maybe this is normal. But it just seems strange to me because it makes me feel dumb when I'm around other people who talk about something else than medicine/psychiatry. It feels like I'm constantly faking and pretending to know about general knowledge stuff, trying to stay non-committal so I don't get caught. Only, I know I'm not dumb. I've read about a lot of these things. But, for some reason, they fall through my mind and I can't verbalize them. I have quite a hard time in general to summarize things I did/read about, also like holidays or activities. It's like my mind's blocked, doesn't know where to start. I know what I did, but I can't spontaneously start babbling about it. I get confused, tangled up and don't know which parts are important and which are not.

All this feels very frustrating because it's keeping me from reading up on new topics I find interesting, because I keep thinking "I won't remember any of this anyway, so what's the point". Obviously, that's not helpful and also sad, since I am very curious and interested in many different things.

Sorry if this post seems a bit confused, but I didn't quite know how to better describe it. Thank you for reading!

For me it really depends, like I often read all the words on a page but have no idea of what I have just read, other things I remeber first time, my working memory is also challenged - I contribute all of it to the ADHD part of my brain.

 

[wards]

Could be ADHD, I suffer with the same thing. I have an assessment soon and if it comes back I’m not ADHD I’m going strait to the GP for a brain scan because my memory is non existent.

 

[kriss72]

Could be ADHD, I suffer with the same thing. I have an assessment soon and if it comes back I’m not ADHD I’m going strait to the GP for a brain scan because my memory is non existent.

I know that feeling, going in to get the result of my assessment, it was really like if I'm not AuDHD, then please tell me what is wrong with me!

 

[AuroraBorealis]

For me it really depends, like I often read all the words on a page but have no idea of what I have just read, other things I remeber first time, my working memory is also challenged - I contribute all of it to the ADHD part of my brain.

I see. That's not how it is for me, though. I usually have no trouble focusing on texts and videos, while I am reading/watching them. I can stay focused, take notes, everything. Only, if I don't take notes, I don't remember the facts afterwards and I'm especially not able to verbalize them, even though I have a vague idea of what I've just read.

 

[UFO]

Do you only read or listen when studying something? I mean, when reading, do you stop to think things you read, or do you just "understand and go to a next paragraph"? Have you tried to make notes while trying to learn something new (not just underscore text)?

When you read something and write it down in other rethought words and phrases, you force your brain to handle the information in multiple ways, and force your brain to create several different relations between pieces of information, which helps to recall the data. I would believe that in "hyperfixation" your brains does that work on its own because it is interested of it, and is thus more receptive.

Though if your problem is not recalling, but rephrasing, then I don't know what could help.

Edit: Oh... While I was writing my reply, you mentioned taking notes...

 

[kriss72]

I see. That's not how it is for me, though. I usually have no trouble focusing on texts and videos, while I am reading/watching them. I can stay focused, take notes, everything. Only, if I don't take notes, I don't remember the facts afterwards and I'm especially not able to verbalize them, even though I have a vague idea of what I've just read.

Interesting... I have never been a good note taker...

 

[wards]

For me it really depends, like I often read all the words on a page but have no idea of what I have just read, other things I remeber first time, my working memory is also challenged - I contribute all of it to the ADHD part of my brain.

I’m like this, I can read a line and think back an be like…. Errrrr what did I just read, end up reading the same line over and over and am just reading words that don’t register in my brain. Almost like the words don’t have a meaning and reading the words is just a task.

Someone can be talking to me and mid sentence I lose interest and end up not hearing half of what they have said to me. I zone out easily and end up focusing on something or part of the persons face for example rather than listen to what they are saying.

I can be asked to do a task and unless it’s written down or told to me exactly how I would explain somthing to someone I just can’t take in what’s been told to me and have to ask over and over for the task instructions lol.

 

[kriss72]

I’m like this, I can read a line and think back an be like…. Errrrr what did I just read, end up reading the same line over and over and am just reading words that don’t register in my brain. Almost like the words don’t have a meaning and reading the words is just a task.

Someone can be talking to me and mid sentence I lose interest and end up not hearing half of what they have said to me. I zone out easily and end up focusing on something or part of the persons face for example rather than listen to what they are saying.

I can be asked to do a task and unless it’s written down or told to me exactly how I would explain somthing to someone I just can’t take in what’s been told to me and have to ask over and over for the task instructions lol.

That is a very good description of me

About the listening part I have found that it is so much more easy for me to listen to people if I don't look at them, I don't mean not look them in the eyes, I mean like not looking at them - it also makes it so much more easy for me to think of my answers

 

[Neonatal RRT]

https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-memory/
If you do a Google Scholar or PubMed search on the topic you will find several articles. "Autism" and "memory". If you limit your search to the past 3-4 years, you will have better luck.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I’m like this, I can read a line and think back an be like…. Errrrr what did I just read, end up reading the same line over and over and am just reading words that don’t register in my brain. Almost like the words don’t have a meaning and reading the words is just a task.

Someone can be talking to me and mid sentence I lose interest and end up not hearing half of what they have said to me. I zone out easily and end up focusing on something or part of the persons face for example rather than listen to what they are saying.

I can be asked to do a task and unless it’s written down or told to me exactly how I would explain somthing to someone I just can’t take in what’s been told to me and have to ask over and over for the task instructions lol.

That's what seems weird to me. That's what I've heard from several people with diagnosed ADHD. However, this doesn't happen to me often (the reading a line and not knowing what I read). I do stay focused while I read it. But then I close the book/article, someone asks me about it 10 minutes later and I can't remember a thing, although while reading it I understood everything and was focused. It feels like the "understanding" part and the "verbalizing" part in my brain are disconnected, if that makes sense.
A related thing might be that reading instructions for practical things (like repairing something) doesn't do a thing for me. I need to really do the activity with my hands, otherwise I won't remember it. However, once I did something even once, I usually remember how to do it for quite a long time.

However, now that I think about it, it does happen mainly with topics I think I "should" read up on to improve my general knowledge (like politics). It happens less with topics I find genuinely interesting (although it does happen with them, too).

I don't know... It's something quite hard to explain and I guess I do have some AuDHD overlaps. I thought, maybe it's more common among autists. Maybe it's more of a "me"-thing.

 

[Neri]

That sounds like me and my AuDHD. I am diagnosed with it and waiting for treatment. It's very chronic and awful, my memory, even though, technically, I am a high IQ individual. Quite debilitating, the memory deficit. I bought a cognition support supplement yesterday, from a brand called Jarrow, I found it recommended from an Autism tiktoc. I ordered it from iherb and it was expensive, but, I'm desperate so I spent my meager resources on it.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Hi, does this sound familiar to you? Do you experience this as well?

For some reason, I have a very hard time reproducing information I've seen or read. I can read books/articles/watch videos about history, geography, astronomy, topics I find very interesting, and understand everything while I watch/listen/read it. But the second I'm done and want to tell someone about it, it's like my mind's been wiped blank. I can't summarize anything or even remember smaller things. Only after watching/reading several times about a topic, I slowly start to be able to actually reproduce some of it.
It seems very weird to me because I am technically very intelligent. But for some reason, it's like my mind doesn't "want" to remember new information. I have to work quite hard, reading several times about a topic, to be able to spontaneously say a few sentences about it. In my mind, if I keep reading about it, it's all there and it's easy for me to keep up. But the second I close the book/article/laptop and want to actively remember and reproduce some of it, it's gone, unless it's a topic I've been familiar with for a longer time now.

This doesn't apply when it comes to medicine/human physiology/biochemistry/psychiatry etc., but those are also things I have been studying for almost 10 years now (including high school) so I have quite a good groundwork there. But when I want to learn more about other, newer interests, like the ones mentioned above, my mind feels like a sieve.

Maybe I'm just surrounded by super-smart people who suck up every piece of new information. Maybe this is normal. But it just seems strange to me because it makes me feel dumb when I'm around other people who talk about something else than medicine/psychiatry. It feels like I'm constantly faking and pretending to know about general knowledge stuff, trying to stay non-committal so I don't get caught. Only, I know I'm not dumb. I've read about a lot of these things. But, for some reason, they fall through my mind and I can't verbalize them. I have quite a hard time in general to summarize things I did/read about, also like holidays or activities. It's like my mind's blocked, doesn't know where to start. I know what I did, but I can't spontaneously start babbling about it. I get confused, tangled up and don't know which parts are important and which are not.

All this feels very frustrating because it's keeping me from reading up on new topics I find interesting, because I keep thinking "I won't remember any of this anyway, so what's the point". Obviously, that's not helpful and also sad, since I am very curious and interested in many different things.

Sorry if this post seems a bit confused, but I didn't quite know how to better describe it. Thank you for reading!

I was always like you in fact I am not really good with science and facts and do not remember them easily and that can make me look dumb
And I am not good at relaying information I get really bad with doing it and really sound dumb a lot.
So it is not easy because it can make people think you are dumb.
However I have a fairly good medical brain but it is not perfect. I have learnt a lot because of my illness too.
So essentially I am good in some areas and weak in others but i like learning and do not think woman should be afraid of it or try to dumb themselves down because of their gender.
I do not think highly intelligent woman should be afraid of being smarter than some intelligent men or match them.
It is kind of a hard issue but I think men who are good will not be threatened by it.
I think it is an insult to the women gender to say they cannot be as smart as men and never anything I would have thought in the past.
Obviously too they have different strengths.

 

[kriss72]

.
So essentially I am good in some areas and weak in others but i like learning and do not think woman should be afraid of it or try to dumb themselves down because of their gender.

Sorry, kind of being triggered here, I agree so much with you!

I do not think highly intelligent woman should be afraid of being smarter than some intelligent men or match them.
It is kind of a hard issue but I think men who are good will not be threatened by it.

I think men that are threatened by intelligent women has a problem with their own manliness and should consider seeking help for that.

I think it is an insult to the women gender to say they cannot be as smart as men and never anything I would have thought in the past.
Obviously too they have different strengths

I would really prefer if we lived in a world where we would see each other for what we are and not our gender - I feel hurt when I'm told off due to my gender.