2A. Read about Rebecca and HSAM. What is unique about Rebecca?
2B. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of having HSAM?
Rebecca Sharrock has an extraordinary memory. She remembers being 12 days old and her father taking a photopragh of her. She remembers already having dreams at 18 months old and how she couldnt tell the diffrence between dreams and reality. And if you say a Harry Potter book and a page number, Rebecca will remember the exact words on the page. Rebecca has HSAM which stands for Highly Superior Autobiogrifical Memory. People with HSAM. and there are currently fewer than 100 in the world - can effortlessly recall just about everything that has ever happened to them, although Rebecca is unique in how early her memory starts. For example,Rebecca remembers the details of her first birthday celebration. Her family,s friends and relatives were waiting for her in the garden and her mother took her outside to see them. She,d been crying because her mother had put her in an itchy satin dress and because she,d burnt her finger on a birhday candle. Later, while it was still light, Rebecca,s mother took her to her cot to sleep. A new Minnie Mouse toy was lying next to her in the cot. Her mother had bought it for her as a present. Rebecca found the toy,s face terrifying and she started crying again. Rebecca,s condition has its drawbacks. She responds to memories from her childhood with the same emotions she experienced at the time. This can be very difficult and can lead her to feel overwhelmed, confused and anxious.