Prosopagnosia Symptom Checklist

In a recent study, we asked 50 adults with prosopagnosia to complete questionnaires and take part in interviews about their experiences of prosopagnosia. We also considered the viewpoints of their significant others, and those of parents who have children with prosopagnosia. Following the interviews, we were able to identify a number of hallmark symptoms that may be used to "spot" the condition. When the participants with prosopagnosia were asked to look back on their childhood experiences with the condition, most stated that they had no idea that they had face recognition difficulties. However, they reported a number of hallmark behaviours that could have been used by others to spot the condition. We summarise these symptoms, for adults and children, in the table below. We anticipate that these symptom lists can be used as a tool for family members, guardians, and non-expert caregivers and professionals (e.g. SENCOs, teachers, educational psychologists) to identify people who may have prosopagnosia. The symptoms may be used as a checklist for this purpose, and can be used to recommend that an adult or child undergoes a more formal, objective assessment. If you would like to register your details on our website, we may be able to assist you with this and offer participation in our research programmes. Please note that we do not recommend any minimum number of symptoms that should be observed to meet a "criteria" for prosopagnosia. If any number of these symptoms are spotted in an adult or child, you may like to recommend them for further assessment.

Hallmark Symptoms of Prosopagnosia - Download PDF

• Confusing characters in films, TV shows and/or plays.
• Inability to identify people in photographs (including famous people, a personally familiar person, or oneself).
• Teachers and/or guardians suggest screening for an alternative developmental disorder, yet this seems inappropriate.
• Appearing "lost" in a crowded place or large gathering (e.g. in the playground, at a train station).
• Severity of difficulties increases in groups where everyone shares a characteristic (e.g. where people wear the same uniform, or are the same age or gender).
• When encountering a person who appears to know them, asks generic questions (nothing personal) until a clue to identity is given.
• Consistently avoids using other people's names.
• Never introduces themselves to someone else, or two people to each other.
Relying on extrafacial information to identify someone, and fails to recognise someone when this changes or is unavailable (e.g. hair style or colour; voice or accent; gait or walk;
• clothing style or uniform).
• Describing people by using extrafacial information (e.g. "that's Mr X with the motorbike helmet").
• Confusing people who have similar extrafacial features but are facially dissimilar.
• Unable to identify an unexpectedly encountered familiar person.
• Walking past and accidentally ignoring familiar people when in public (i.e. that individual is out of context).
• A relative ease in recognising people when they appear in expected contexts (e.g. a work colleague in the workplace).
• Believing others to be extraordinarily good at face recognition and/or being amazed by others' abilities.
• Struggling to reconstruct or imagine a person's face in one's mind, and/or being unable to describe that face.

The full citation of our research paper is (you can read it in full here):

We would be delighted to hear of any instances where this checklist has been of use, particularly in educational, clinical or other occupational settings. To provide feedback on the checklist, or for any additional support, please contact us here.