As awareness of prosopagnosia as a neurological condition is increasing, more people are starting to explain their difficulties to others. However the ability to recognise other people by their faces is such an automatic process for most people, that you may be met by disbelief or puzzlement.
If you are met with disbelief you can show the Face Blind UK alert card or point them towards the Face Blind UK website or NHS Choices.
You may need to explain a few times (especially if you’ve been quite adept at covering up your lack of recognition in the past). Wearing a badge can help remind people that you have prosopagnosia and may inadvertently blank a friend or colleague.
The Alert Card and Badge are part of the Face Blind UK resource package.
Once you have explained your difficulty, friends or colleagues may be willing to offer their help in identifying others. In Ancient Rome there was a post called a nomenclator, a servant whose duty was to remind his master of the names of those who greeted him.
Face Blind UK have produced a series of factsheets to help explain the condition and offer ideas as to the ways in which other people may be able to help. These include factsheets for family and friends, employers, teachers, parents etc.
