Blanking – the forgotten symptom?

[Anonymous]

I’m so afraid of “blanking out” and forgetting things I spend extra time going over mental checklists and refuse to leave the house if I feel like I’m forgetting something, until I remember what it is. Over time I’ve learned somehow to recall pretty much everything “important” just in time to make it wherever I have to go on time or close enough to on time. In the past, this behavior used to make me late for almost everything. I think I’ve managed to start planning ahead far enough in advance to prevent being late most of the time, but man it still seems to take me a lot longer to prepare and execute plans than anyone else I know.

I have another form of “blanking out” though, that sometimes causes a different kind of problem. I don’t know if this is due to ADD or Asperger Syndrome or a little of both. I tend to blank out when asked to do something I wasn’t expecting and hadn’t planned to do, especially if the task requires thinking and putting information together for someone elses reference. In the past I would try to do this when asked, even though I hadn’t planned on it, and it has led to problems. Sometimes serious problems.

An example of this happened to me just a few days ago. I was at a local HHS agency, and the case manager we met with was a bit confused about the financial documentation we provided. I had no problem explaining it verbally, but she was still a little confused so she handed me a statement form and asked me to write down what I had just explained.

My mind went totally blank. I couldn’t remember exactly what I had just told her, and knew I couldn’t reconstruct it right at that moment, so I told her I would have to take the form home and do it later when I could think more clearly. I explained that I have ADD, and that sometimes I have these “moments” and can’t formulate my thoughts in writing “off the cuff.”

She looked at me suspiciously and said, “I’m just asking you to write what you just said.”

I replied, “I realize that, but I have ADD, and occasionally when I’m asked to write things down I have just said, I can’t remember what I just said, and what I write sometimes comes across as convoluted and doesn’t make sense. I really need to take this home and send it in to you later.”

She then asked, “is what you just told me not accurate?”

I said, “No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying I’m drawing a blank, and can’t do this right now.”

My wife even stepped in and explained that I have Asperger Syndrome as well and often have this kind of problem. It was clear from the woman’s expression that she didn’t believe a word of what we were telling her, but also clear that I was not about to fill out the statement right then and there.

I have had to learn not to let anyone intimidate me into pushing against my AS and ADD nature, even if they clearly don’t believe anything I’m telling them. It really is critical, I’ve learned, NOT to work against my nature, and better to work with it even if it seems inconvenient for others.

It does appear at first as though putting something like that off might take more time, but experience has taught me that the misunderstandings that can happen when I don’t take that time waste far more time and cause far more stress than putting things off I am simply NOT prepared to do “in the moment.”

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[Anonymous]

It happens to me from time to time, the lost time thing. For example, I’ll have something in my hand and the next thing I know it’s gone. I find it put away or delt with if I had a purpose in the first place. I’m so used to my quirks that I say outloud ‘ok, moving on!’

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[Anonymous]

Say Mr.Xxx,

I’ve got a question what is AS?

K

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[Anonymous]

i’m gonna guess its aspergers syndrome?

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[Anonymous]

Yeah I blank out a lot during a conversation. I hate it.

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[Anonymous]

Jen,

What is Aspergers syndrome?

K

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[Anonymous]

I’m reading _More Attention, Less Deficit_ by Dr. Ari Tuckman, and he talks about blanking. I’m not too far into the book, but he bases his information on both scientific literature and his experiences working with ADHD adults, so you may find the information you’re seeking. Here’s a link to his website: http://adultadhdbook.com/?page_id=20. He has free podcasts of the different chapters.

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[Anonymous]

I blank out plenty but, sometimes this triggers me to go into some type of hyperfocused state. This hyperfocus ability is sometimes very good at times

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[Anonymous]

Kazuo: its a form of autism:

Asperger syndrome or Asperger’s syndrome (play /ˈæspərɡərz/) is an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported.

see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome

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[Anonymous]

Jen- thanks for the link

K

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[Anonymous]

Sorry I missed the questions. Thanks jen, for providing the link.

By the way, watch out for the wikipedia article. That one happens to be a highly controversial one. If you check at the wrong time, it may contain very bogus information.

I would try to explain it here, or even provide a few links, but to be perfectly honest, AS and Autism are such complex disorders, a couple of articles and a brief explanation can’t do it justice.

It took me eleven years of research to finally figure out and be convinced I have it, and finally get a diagnosis. The actual diagnosis I have is “PDD-NOS” (Pervasive Development Disorder – Not otherwise specified ~ which is also on the Autistic spectrum), but what I have is actually is Asperger Syndrome. The Dr. didn’t go with AS only because I don’t display enough symptoms anymore, but she does agree that I had it as a child, and that if one has it, it doesn’t just go away. DSM is very specific though that even in adult diagnosis the symptoms MUST be currently present.

If one really wants or needs to know more about it, the only way to understand it is to read a LOT about it. I really DON’T mean to be condescending. It just really IS that complex. You’ll also find, if you do look up a lot about it, that it is very controversial as well, as ADD and ADHD were back in the eighties, AS is today.

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[Anonymous]

wikipedia tends towrards being a bit wobbly cos so do gthe general public, but it generally has good links for reading more.

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[Anonymous]

does anyone have it when they blank they really blank … like sometimes ill be writing / doing homwork and then all of a sudden ill stop and forget what im thinking and have that tip of the tounge thing and be like where am i in this convorsation ?

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[Anonymous]

When I blank, It lasts a minute or so and I have no recollection of what happened. It’s like, to use my previous example, I come aware suddenly that I was holding this object and… where the (beep) is it now? I must admit, once or twice, I tought I was like Cybil, the woman who had multiple personnalities! It doesn’t happen everyday. I also loose time by being in the automatic mode. That happens everyday.

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[anniea]

YES!! blanking…has happened, still happens..and I am trying to remember what was going on just before….seems to be a over stimulation thing right now….Today I just couldn’t stay present, and kept blanking on my honey..I feel bad, but it isn’t until he is gone and I have a moment to process it was because there was tTOO MUCH jamming the circuts…boing…shut down reboot….oh I’m back..I think..you know?

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