0:00:02 > 0:00:03# You ready? #
0:00:19 > 0:00:22'I'm Hannah and I'm 14 years old.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'In this room are some of my closest friends and family.
0:00:26 > 0:00:33'But I've just walked past my dad, mum and best friend, Leah, and I can't recognise any of them.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'It could be one of the most famous faces on the planet.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:41- Do they look familiar?- No. - That is Simon Cowell.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42'Or even myself.'
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- Me?- No, it's not you, it's actually granny.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51'Everyone's a stranger to me, because I'm face blind and it's cut me off from the world around me.'
0:00:57 > 0:01:01'This is my school and it's lunch time.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Can we file out the building, please?
0:01:03 > 0:01:06'But I'm struggling to find my best friend, Leah.'
0:01:06 > 0:01:11She's in a different uniform to me. She is wearing a grey uniform.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16She told me the other day she always wears a bow in her hair, but I've never actually noticed that.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18'I won't be able to recognise her by her face,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21'because all of these faces look the same to me.'
0:01:21 > 0:01:24It's quite difficult here, because there's a lot of people.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28'I have one of the worst cases of face blindness that experts have seen.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34'Any girl or boy could be Leah. My mum could even be stood there and I wouldn't know.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39'To work out who's who, I have to become a superdetective.'
0:01:39 > 0:01:42I think this is someone in my class and him too.
0:01:42 > 0:01:48Because he's small and his friend's taller and they're always together.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51He's the smallest that comes to this lunch, so I think it's him.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I would never ask to check, I just don't, it embarrasses me.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59'But I can't find any clues to tell me Leah's there.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03'She might as well be on another planet.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07'I know what you're thinking, if I can't pick out my best friend
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'amongst a crowd, what must be going on in my head?'
0:02:12 > 0:02:16'I have a condition called prosopagnosia, or face blindness.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'When I look at the face, I see exactly what you see, two eyes, a nose and a mouth,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24'but my brain can't add those features together to make a person I know.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'Everyone is a stranger to me.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:35'It's not just my friends. I can't recognise some of the most famous faces in the world either.'
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- No.- No, do they look familiar?- No.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'I watch the X Factor every week.'
0:02:43 > 0:02:49- That is a picture of Simon Cowell. - Ah, OK.- You're favourite programme.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55- One Direction. - How do you know that's One Direction? - Because they're a group.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And is it just because they're five of them, or do you recognise any of their faces?
0:02:58 > 0:03:00No, I don't recognise them.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'It might seem really strange to you.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:05- No.- No? Gary Barlow.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09'But without being told their names I have no idea who they are.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:11That is Doctor Who.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'It's really frustrating when people are talking about celebrities
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'and I have no idea what they look like.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:20It's Adele. You listen to Adele every day in the car.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'It doesn't matter when I got it wrong with my mum.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'But it's embarrassing when it happens with people my age.'
0:03:28 > 0:03:34When people say to me, "What's it like?" I don't really have an answer, because it's normal to me.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I don't know any different.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41'I don't like being different, but with the help of my mum I cover up my condition.'
0:03:41 > 0:03:47I think probably like most teenagers she doesn't want me to do anything out of the ordinary.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50So we have lots of little processes in place so that none
0:03:50 > 0:03:52of her other friends think she is any different.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56I think it is upsetting for me, because sometimes she getting upset and anxious and worried
0:03:56 > 0:04:01that she can't find me and you can see that sort of lost look on her face.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09'I've always thought my condition was permanent, but now I'm going to find out if that could all change.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:14Today, I'm here at the university, because they have just set up a facial processing centre,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18hopefully will be able to help me to recognise people.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21If it does work, I will be able to do lots of other things that
0:04:21 > 0:04:24I wouldn't be able to do with face blindness, so I really hope it helps.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- How are you?- Fine, thank you, how are you?- Yeah, not too bad.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32'Jay is working with some of the best face blindness experts in the world.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34'Today, he is going to find out more about my problems.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:37So we are just going to show you some pictures.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Some of them are people you know and some are people you don't know.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44'So that I focus on the facial features, the hair has been removed.'
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So the first one is that familiar, or unfamiliar?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Unfamiliar.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03- OK, that's actually a picture of Dad. - Ah.- OK.- Great, thank you.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07How about the next one? Do you think this is someone you know, or someone you don't know?
0:05:07 > 0:05:09'It doesn't matter how hard I try.'
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Familiar.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'I just can't see who the face belongs to.'
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Me?
0:05:15 > 0:05:20- No, it's not you, it's actually Granny.- Oh, OK.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22OK, how about this one?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Someone you know, or is it a stranger?
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Unfamiliar.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34OK, it's actually a picture of me.
0:05:34 > 0:05:40'I'm so upset when I get it wrong and I wish more than anything I could recognise my mum.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45'I know it must make her really sad too that her face is like a stranger to me.'
0:05:45 > 0:05:50Hannah finds it particularly hard to recognise faces in comparison to other people.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54When we look at a face, it seems to just hit us all at once and we just know who it is.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58What we notice with Hannah is she seems to take a lot of time looking at people's features,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01looking at people's eyebrows, things we probably wouldn't think of doing.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06The next stage of the training will be rather than getting her to look at small features of people's
0:06:06 > 0:06:10faces and trying to recognise them, it will be to get her to look at faces in a completely different way.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12That hopefully will be more helpful.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'Life wasn't always like this. I used to be able to recognise faces.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24'But six years ago my life changed forever.'
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I was only a little bit older than Ellie when I had encephalitis.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31I don't remember much from it, but I was told that I was blind for a period of time.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38'Encephalitis is a rare infection that can stop your brain working properly.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40'It hit me while we were on holiday.'
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Hannah started going dizzy and feeling unwell.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50We tried to say, "Hannah, are you OK?" and there was just basically nothing.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I thought she was dying and I was kissing her goodbye.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58'For three days, I lay in a coma in hospital.'
0:06:58 > 0:07:01When I woke up I wasn't myself. I couldn't walk.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I had to learn how to do everything again.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08'Most of my brain recovered, but one part stopped working.'
0:07:09 > 0:07:13'From then on, I didn't know who anyone was.'
0:07:13 > 0:07:16She just never had the ability to recognise faces.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21There was nothing wrong with her eye sight, it was just damage to the brain.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25'So how do I cope? I've had to find other ways of recognising people.'
0:07:27 > 0:07:33'Imagine trying to find your friends if everyone looks the same to you. It's not easy.'
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- Do you want any roast potatoes?- No, thank you.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39'But I've learned to make lists of people's features.'
0:07:41 > 0:07:44'Striking details are the easiest to recognise.'
0:07:45 > 0:07:47'Glasses or accessories help.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'Hair can be a bit hit and miss.'
0:07:51 > 0:07:53'Usually it's a combination of features
0:07:53 > 0:07:58'and I have become an expert at recognising people by their voices.'
0:07:58 > 0:08:00- Hello, Hannah.- Oh, hello.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04'But clothes and hair change and it's easy to make mistakes.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:07It would be me that got upset if I got someone wrong.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10I just don't want to be different from anyone else.
0:08:10 > 0:08:16'I won't do anything without my mum or Leah to help me and I never ever go out on my own.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:19It helps if I have a friend like Leah to ask,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22so no-one knows I have asked who they were.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24People who don't have face blindness
0:08:24 > 0:08:26don't go up to someone and say, "Who are you?"
0:08:26 > 0:08:27So I don't want to either.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32'Being face blind has stopped me doing all the things I want to do.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37'But there are other people round my age who have it and are much more confident than me.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42'Even though I haven't met her yet, 12-year-old Laura is one of them.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45'She deals with it in a totally different way too me.'
0:08:45 > 0:08:51I travel on my own quite a lot going to school, to the leisure centre, to go out with my friends.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53I am fairly independent.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57'Today, she is doing something I would never do.'
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I'm going to the ice skating rink.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's going to be really fun, I'm going to meet with four of my friends
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and do ice skating, which I really enjoy.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Because I have face blindness, it's a little bit harder to find my friends,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11because I can't actually remember what their faces look like.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'I can't believe Laura's going into the ice rink on her own.'
0:09:17 > 0:09:22If it's busy, it can be a lot harder to find my friends, because I've got to look at more faces,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25try and figure out if I've ever seen them before,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27because every time I look at a face it's a new face.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'Laura's friends could be anywhere in the leisure centre.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37'But unlike me, Laura isn't afraid of taking risks.'
0:09:37 > 0:09:42If I can't find them, I'm just going to call their names and hope they come ever to me.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- Emmy.- Hello.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47'I wish I could be that confident.'
0:09:47 > 0:09:49So was it easy finding us today?
0:09:49 > 0:09:53- Well, I looked for Cameron's hair, because it's curly and puffy. - Only Cameron's hair?
0:09:53 > 0:09:58'The thing people find hardest to believe is we don't even recognise our own reflection.'
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Looking at myself at the moment I can see the obvious things that I just know off my heart,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08like I have blonde hair and blue eyes with little brown bits.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13But if in ten minutes I looked at my face again, it would just look like a complete stranger to me.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15I mean you recognise your family, your mum?
0:10:15 > 0:10:19No, I don't. It's nothing about how much I see a person.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23You know their features and what they look like, but you just can't visualise it.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Yes, it's just a sentence to me, it is like, "She has brown hair."
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I know what brown hairs means, but I can't picture it.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34So how do you manage to, like, to go around. How did you figure it out?
0:10:34 > 0:10:38It's quite hard for me to imagine that you guys can actually recognise faces,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40because I've never been able to do it.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43So I grew up learning different techniques.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44If I got separated on the rink,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Emmy's got ear muffs - I'd look for those.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Jane's glasses. I always know look for Cameron by her hair.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52And Talley would just be the other one!
0:10:56 > 0:11:01'Laura's so brave she is going to try and find her friends without their help.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04'But some of them are already looking a bit different.'
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Talley?
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Hi. Recognised you, because you're wearing a mouse, or is it a Koala?
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- It's a Koala.- A Koala hat.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Ellie!
0:11:21 > 0:11:24No, you're Ellie, because it's the silver coat.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'I would be freaking out by now, but Laura makes it look easy.'
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Cameron.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- Hello! Why did you recognise me? - Because you've got long hair.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35OK, just Jane now.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40'But Laura can't spot Jane.'
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Right, no, neither of them are Jane.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44'And if that was me, I would be really worried.'
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- Is this Jane?- Yes. - Yeah, I just saw you.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It was harder to spot Jane, because she'd taken off her glasses.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59I'm quite lucky, because it's quite empty today and it's easier to find people.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01I once remember I was in a supermarket
0:12:01 > 0:12:04and I followed a man who I thought was my dad.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06That does happen every now and then.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08It is embarrassing thinking someone's someone you know
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and then finding you've never met them in your life before.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16'For me, it's worse than embarrassing, I find it terrifying.'
0:12:18 > 0:12:21'I'm really hoping the university can help me.
0:12:21 > 0:12:28'Today, I'm meeting their top expert and she is going to try and find a way to help me recognise faces.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33'And that means more tests to try and find out what I'm doing different to everyone else.'
0:12:34 > 0:12:39A tiny little camera is just going to pick up your pupil and just follow where you look.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- OK.- OK?
0:12:45 > 0:12:49'All I have to do is look at a picture of a face.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52'The camera will reveal where I'm going wrong.'
0:12:56 > 0:13:01'My sister Ellie's here to try and find out what happens in someone who doesn't have face blindness.'
0:13:01 > 0:13:02Are you looking forward to this?
0:13:04 > 0:13:07'Ellie's the youngest person Sarah has ever tested.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11'But it doesn't matter that she's only six, because most people
0:13:11 > 0:13:13'can recognise faces from where when they're babies.'
0:13:13 > 0:13:16OK, it'll be finished. You can relax.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22'It's important I don't see the results yet, so Sarah explains them to my mum.'
0:13:22 > 0:13:26When we look at Ellie's, we are seeing this triangle pattern.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So she's looking between the eyes, down to the mouth and over the nose.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35She's very tightly on the inner features, which is exactly what we would expect.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39'Ellie finds the test easy, but my results are very different.'
0:13:39 > 0:13:44She's actually quite widely spread.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49You can see she is kind of looking all over those external features.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54'You may be asking why am I looking at faces in such a different way.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57'To show you we need to look inside of my brain.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02'There is a special area that we use to recognise faces.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05'It's called the fusiform face area.'
0:14:07 > 0:14:11'It matches key features to people you've met before.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14'But in my brain, the face area is broken.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17'I can't match features with faces.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19'So I look at the hair and face shape.'
0:14:19 > 0:14:25She is looking at the inner features to some extent, which is good.
0:14:25 > 0:14:31She is one of the most severely face blind people that we have had here.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36'Sarah can't fix the face area of my brain, but she has a big idea.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41'She wants to see if she can train a different part of my brain to do the same job.'
0:14:41 > 0:14:47It is possible another area of the brain might actually take over and to some extent
0:14:47 > 0:14:51she might then recover some of her face processing ability.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Your job is to work out which of the two underneath faces is the same as the person at the top.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Shall I press it?
0:14:58 > 0:15:03'The training programme will force me to focus on the eyes, nose and mouth,
0:15:03 > 0:15:05'because the people in it have had their hair removed.'
0:15:05 > 0:15:08This is level one.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12To pass the level, you need to get at least 36 out of the 40 correct.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Anyone who has normal face processing abilities kind of starts
0:15:16 > 0:15:21struggling around level five or six anyway, so don't get despondent.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25'Nobody knows if the training will work,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28'but I've got so much hope pinned onto it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31'It could change my life.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34'But what if it doesn't work?'
0:15:34 > 0:15:37One of the worries I have about when I'm older is
0:15:37 > 0:15:40because I want children, I won't be able to recognise them.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44And that's quite scary. And my boyfriend, husband.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48It's just like lots of children the same age as me,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51they've got lots of hopes and dreams.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59'A few weeks later, my training's going really badly.'
0:15:59 > 0:16:03I'm still on level one and I've done it 82 times.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07I don't seem to be improving. I seem to be getting worse.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11To get past level one, I have to get 36 right out of 40.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14And the most I've got so far is 30.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18'I'm starting to lose hope of ever recognising someone by their face.'
0:16:18 > 0:16:21I don't think there's any improvement at all
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and I don't think there will be.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33'Luckily, Sarah has an idea to cheer me up.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36'I've come to a theme park with my family
0:16:36 > 0:16:39'and I'm finally going to be meeting Laura face-to-face.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44'I'm really excited to be meeting someone with face blindness too.'
0:16:44 > 0:16:46- Hello.- Hello.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48'And we're nearly the same age.'
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- You're Hannah, right? - Yeah, and you're Laura?- Yeah.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Hello, Hannah.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'I'm desperate to know if Laura has the same problems as me.'
0:16:56 > 0:16:58See you later. Bye.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02- So...you acquired face blindness, right?- Yeah. Did you?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05No, I was born with it.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06- Wow!- Yeah.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10- I found out a year and a half ago. Yeah, ten and a bit.- Wow!
0:17:10 > 0:17:13So I went through all of the junior school getting everyone mixed up
0:17:13 > 0:17:17and everyone thinking I wasn't paying enough attention.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21I found out about three weeks after I must have had it.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26- How do you recognise people? - Hair, accessories...
0:17:26 > 0:17:31So if they've got certain earrings on in the day, I'll look for that.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36And also I look for posture, stuff like that. Is that the same with you?
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I recognise people by their voice.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40- Oh.- Do you do that?- A little bit.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45- Do you want to go on this? - I don't know!
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- Looks a bit scary, but... - I'd go on it if my mum was here.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- Maybe we could go on something a bit less scary first.- Yeah.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56'We might be feeling brave enough to go on the rides later,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00'but first we want to chat.'
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I'm quite independent at home because my dad's...
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- I don't know if you saw by his stick, he's actually blind.- Really?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Yeah, so face blindness isn't anywhere near as difficult to
0:18:10 > 0:18:13deal with cos he can't see anything.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16When we do lunch, I'll help him cook and when we go shopping,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20I help him get things, so that has helped me be independent.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- I find the supermarket difficult cos I can't...- Find your parents.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Yeah, when you lose your dad or mum, how do you look at it
0:18:27 > 0:18:30when you're lost?
0:18:30 > 0:18:33I'm normally really scared. "Oh, God!
0:18:33 > 0:18:36"I can't find them!" And I'll be panicking a bit.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40- A little bit? - More than a little bit!
0:18:40 > 0:18:45But I just calm myself, "OK, call him on his mobile." It's frustrating
0:18:45 > 0:18:49thinking that I've probably walked past him 20 times.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52He hasn't seen me and I haven't known it was him.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56I've never lost myself permanently!
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I get really worried and I can't calm myself down.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04'I'm starting to realise that maybe having these worries is normal.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08'And maybe it is possible to overcome them.'
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- Do you go off on your own?- Quite a bit. I do it. I just deal with it.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Yeah.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I don't go off on my own often cos I get really worried.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21But I'm just getting my confidence to do it now.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It does feel a lot better when you're more confident about it.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I think it's helpful that I spoke to someone that could really
0:19:31 > 0:19:34understand. Now I know I'm not alone
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and there's other people the same age as me that have it.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Sometimes you just feel like you're the only one.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46'And together, we overcome another fear.'
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Hannah, why are we doing this?
0:19:51 > 0:19:55It's quite nice to know someone else my age who also has face blindness.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01We're going to swap email addresses and, hopefully, we can meet up again.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03'I've realised that nothing should stop me
0:20:03 > 0:20:06'doing things people my age do.'
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Oh! That is so, so fun!
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'I've been really inspired by meeting Laura
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'and now I'm taking on my biggest fear.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18'Me and my friend Scarlett are hitting the shops.'
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- You've got your phone with you. - Yeah.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- If you need anything, just phone us. - OK.- Bye.- Bye.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29'It feels amazing to be doing something without our parents.'
0:20:29 > 0:20:31No, I don't like them.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36'To start with, I stay by Scarlett's side, but then she has an idea.'
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Now you feel more confident,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41do you want to try that on and then you can meet me somewhere?
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- Yeah.- Are you sure?- Yeah.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45OK, see you there.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47OK. Bye.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51'Scarlett's going on to another shop and I'm going to have to find her.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55'I've never ever been on my own in a public place.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59'But this time, I feel brave enough to try it.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02'And I know all I need to do is stay calm.'
0:21:02 > 0:21:04OK, I've found it.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10- Hi.- Hi.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14- Are you all right?- Yeah, thanks. - Was it as hard as you thought?
0:21:14 > 0:21:16I was like, "Right, I'm hoping she's OK."
0:21:16 > 0:21:21- But you made it.- Yeah.- That was really good.- Yeah, that's good.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23It was good.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26I think it's built my confidence now, that I could find the shop
0:21:26 > 0:21:28and find Scarlett.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33One day, I'd like to be able to go in any shop, so hopefully doing
0:21:33 > 0:21:36things like this will gradually help me build my confidence.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45'Things are getting much better with my training too.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48'To try and make another part of my brain do the job,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51'I have to pick out the faces that match.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56'I'm determined to improve my score and spend hours practising.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59'And I'm getting better each time.
0:21:59 > 0:22:05'A few days later, I'm excited to talk to Sarah about my results.'
0:22:05 > 0:22:08It's taken ten hours to get to the end of level one,
0:22:08 > 0:22:13but you've got there, so there's definitely evidence of improvement.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15I know how frustrating it must be.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21If you think, there you were at the start, getting 17 out of 40,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and we got you up to 36 out of 40,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28you've doubled how good you were in the space of ten hours.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31'Even though I haven't been training for long,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35'it looks like another part of my brain is already taking over.'
0:22:35 > 0:22:39It's nice to know that perseverance and hard work has paid off.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I was so proud because I know she could have given up at any time.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Very proud.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49'And Sarah has a surprise test for me to see
0:22:49 > 0:22:53'if I can put my training into practise.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58'In amongst this line up are some of my closest friends and family.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You're going to see a big group of people
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and some will be people you know.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08We just want you to see if you can identify any of them.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14When you're ready.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21'I'm so nervous, I'm shaking.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26'Normally, I use locations to help me guess who people are.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30'I know I'll see my teachers at school and my parents at home.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'There aren't any clues here.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38'On my first attempt, I walk straight past my mum, my dad
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'and my best friend Leah.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44'I haven't spotted anyone, so I give it another go.'
0:23:55 > 0:23:58My mum, maybe?
0:23:59 > 0:24:04'It's the first time I've ever recognised my mum since my illness.'
0:24:04 > 0:24:09- So is there anyone you just have a tiny...?- One.- Which one is it?
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Don't know.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- If you were to take a guess, who would it be?- My dad.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Yeah, that's right. It's your dad.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22'I was so nervous about getting it wrong,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'but it feels great to pick my dad out...'
0:24:24 > 0:24:26- Hello.- Granddad.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- '..and with a little help from people's voices...'- Hello.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Leah? '..I get all the others right.'
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- Hello, Hannah.- Granny Sue. - It was really emotional
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and I felt guilty in a way that I was testing her.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44And then when she walked past me and said, "It's my mum, possibly,"
0:24:44 > 0:24:46I sort of thought, "Oh!"
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Even if it wasn't with complete confidence,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55I think she was pretty sure and it was really emotional!
0:24:59 > 0:25:03'I've come further than I ever thought possible.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07'But I still have one question - what will my future be like?
0:25:07 > 0:25:13'Experts think that as my as one in 50 people could be face blind.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17'Today, Laura and I are going to be meeting one of them,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'Duncan Bannatyne.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23'He's one of the richest men in the country
0:25:23 > 0:25:27'and also a huge TV star on Dragons' Den.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29'I'm keen to make a good impression,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'but I get him confused with the man by the window. Oops!'
0:25:33 > 0:25:37- Hello.- Hello. Hannah. - Hannah, nice to meet to you.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42- So, do you watch Dragons' Den?- Yes. - Did you see it last night?- No.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44I missed it as well.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45THEY LAUGH
0:25:45 > 0:25:48'He shows us around one of his health clubs.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51'I'm amazed that his face blindness hasn't
0:25:51 > 0:25:54'got in the way of his business empire.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- How many of these clubs do you have? - Well, we've got 61 clubs altogether.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03- That's a lot of clubs.- Yeah. The turnover's £100 million a year.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- Oh, my goodness!- That's a lot.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09'It's more money than I could ever imagine.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12'I want to know how he's managed it with his condition.'
0:26:12 > 0:26:15The 26th floor, I think.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's pretty high up! Amazing!
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- I find that lots of people think you're a bit rude.- Or strange.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24They assume cos you can't recognise people,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27you must have loads of things wrong with you.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29It's such an unknown illness.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31- Does it ever upset you when you get it wrong?- Yeah.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35I think getting the message out there that you have
0:26:35 > 0:26:38the condition is better than trying to cover up for it.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42It has upset me, having face blindness and getting things wrong.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46But having spoken to Laura and now you,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50she said that's what we have, we can't change it.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53You can say to yourself there are people worse off,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57but I don't think any of us should feel sorry for ourselves.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00That's one of the worst things anyone can do who's got a condition.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03So, make the best of it. Enjoy life.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08Embrace the situation you're in and embrace your life and enjoy it.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- Thanks very much.- Thank you. - Thank you.- Thanks a lot.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It's just amazing to meet one of Britain's best business people
0:27:15 > 0:27:18and finding he had the same condition as us was just...wow!
0:27:18 > 0:27:22It's made me believe in myself and know nothing's going to stop me.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I am who I am and I shouldn't let myself get down about it.
0:27:26 > 0:27:32Just enjoy your future because...the world is amazing.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd