Somewhat Flawed Autism Study

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Have you considered deliberately using visual memory systems?

I use these for various things:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_major_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_dominic_system

Yes, recently. I used to run a lot of roleplaying games, and I used visual mnemonics to handle running the games. The consequence was that I rarely needed to write much down beyond simple prompts for myself, and could maintain the "state of the world" in my own brain over the long term. It wasn't a deliberate choice to use visual mnemonics, just RPGs are extremely visual for me.

I do recall other players needing to use miniatures or other visual cues to know where they were in a fight, and I was like... "can't you just visualize the action?"

I remember things, words or pictures, by taking photographs of the things that the words or pictures are on. Like serial numbers on boxes of products or baseball statistics on ESPN webpages. At one point during my obsession with baseball statistics, I knew all the statistics on every day of the season for my favorite team. The webpages were like a lookup table, and I just brought up a date and looked at different locations on the webpage to get the statistics, like the list of ERA leaders and the opponent team that day and the major hits and outs of the game.

I have always found mnemonics difficult to use, because there are translation steps involved. It was easier for me to refer to these lookup tables for the data. The results of lab experiments will often be a table of values from the data processing software, and it was easiest to remember the values directly from the spreadsheet on the computer.

Is this common amongst autistic people? I always thought that everyone remembered things this way.

I've remembered quite a few things that way. I sometimes recall words that I can't bring to mind (tip of the tongue) by visualizing something that has the word printed on it.

I perhaps misunderstood what fraac meant by visual mnemonic, as I was thinking of remembering things visually, which I can easily recall.

I meant deliberately using the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_Loci ("memory palace"), for example, for remembering wordy stuff, as you'd seem to be naturally good at it.

Maybe my short term memory wouldn't be so awful if I visualized the string of numbers instead of trying to repeatedly think the numbers...hmm

I remember phone numbers by finding patterns within them, patterns are easier to remember than numbers.

That may be more organized than my brain can manage. I do have a kind of structure to my memories and memorization, but I'd describe it as somewhat organic (in that it grew over time). Until about eight or nine years ago, my recall was extremely accurate, however, and it's only been since then (when I developed fibromyalgia) that my memory has become less reliable. Although what feels to me like hazy recollection seems to be more detailed and accurate than what other people do, at least sometimes. At least, that's the impression I got from my therapist when I told her what she had changed in her office during my entire time there.

For a shopping list, if I try to repeat items I will be guaranteed to forget something. We actually started purposefully adding items to shopping lists so that when I forgot something it was less likely to be something that mattered.

However, eventually I found what I need for getting what I need from the store. I only remember how many items I am going to pick up and I'm fine. Try to make me do any of the normal methods of remembering what it is and it doesn't work at all.

Shopping lists are EASY with a linked visual system.

Assuming you actually have a visual memory.

I can force myself to remember things verbally and get a semi-decent rate of retention, but usually I don't use either visual or verbal memory. Remembering the number of items for me, allows me to remember things without trying to force them into visual or verbal and I'm able to pull up what I need to get when at the store. If I was to try to use a linked visual system I'd probably fail at it more than trying to remember it verbally (though not much more).

Visual memory can be exhausting for some.
It's better to use our default systems.
One can not force one to become better at one other system if they rely mostly on visual or sounds or words.

I have very limited visual memory and it's automatic. Most of the times it's just my senses getting screwed up and serves no real purpose than to make me think 'oh, that's interesting. Please go now, you're distracting me.'
It helps with navigation and has some other perks, but for the most part my memory is in sounds, and not always words.

Please just stop assuming everyone will profit from this visual system like you do. We all have different thinking styles. I am visual-auditory and even I have trouble with remembering a shopping list. Repetition works for me.

I didn't assume anything. You're nothing to me, I wouldn't make assumptions one way or another.

If you're one of the rare autistics with worse visualising abilities than NTs, visual memory systems probably wouldn't help. For most others they're likely to be hugely useful. Bases covered.

Who really "plans" to go to the store? I don't.

I don't use "lists," visually or verbally, since I can't remember "lists" and I rarely can carry out "plans."

When I run out of food, I realize that I'm out of food. I then go to the store and walk around until I see something that triggers the memory that I need it. Luckily, I tend to buy the same things every time. Not much "visualizing" or "verbalizing" required. Of course, my "shopping" generally takes multiple trips spread out over a week since I'm eternally forgetting things.

What's this "list" crap? I have a strong internal narrator, but my short-term memory is garbage. So is my planning.

Next theory, please.