The first and often most reliable diagnostic tool is your own experience of incidents where you haven’t recognised someone you know well or have only just been talking to. However it’s easy to rely on context, mannerisms or voice, rather than faces to recognise others, and so not realise that you’re working that much harder than others who can recognise faces automatically. There are a few ways in which you can explore whether you have prosopagnosia.
A Quick Quiz
As a first step you may want to check out ten situations which people with prosopagnosia often find difficult.
NHS Diagnosis
If you have Acquired Prosopagnosia, you may be able to discuss the condition with your neurologist.
Research Centres
Individual testing is often most easily accessed by volunteering as a participant in a research programme.
For people who suspect that they may have had difficulty recognising faces all their lives, it may be quite a revelation to hear that this is a neurological condition. Hearing about the experiences of other people with face blindness can create a real sense of connection, which researcher Brad Duchenne describes as the “prosopagnosic epiphany”!
Remember, if you think you are face blind, don’t worry – you are not alone! It is estimated that over 2% of the population have prosopagnosia.
