I Have Asperger's

I like rules.  (Reasonable ones, of course!)  They keep an order to chaos, and I try to follow them.  Actually, I try to follow them so much, that I probably go overboard.  Take the time that my friend had a chorus or choir performance.  It was late at night, and her mom took me to go and see her.  But in the middle of it, I realized it was getting too late!  I had to be home before my parents went to bed: that was the RULE!  Unfortunately, I ended up cutting my friend's performance short because I INSISTED I needed to be home.  Of course, I didn't HAVE to.  My parents told me I would have been fine because I was with an adult that they knew.  But to me, that wasn't consistent with the rule, and I didn't know there could be exceptions. 

Another time, and this was more recently, my friend wanted to go ice skating with me.  But he's not allowed to drive me, I thought.  So I had to tell him no.  (I didn't have access to a car at this point.)  Later, I was asking my mom if she could drive me there to meet him, and she asked me "Why can't HE drive you?".  WHAT?  But that's NOT the RULE!  I told her "I thought I couldn't!"  She explained that she had put that rule in place YEARS ago, when he had FIRST gotten his driver's license.  Apparently, at some point in those years, he had gained enough skill to drive me.  But I didn't know that.  And I didn't know to ASK when this would happen.  All I knew was, well, I couldn't ride with him, and that was the rule.

So you see, I like rules.  Concrete rules with HARDLY any exception.  (I mean, I don't mind giving people a LITTLE break here or there, but really, follow the rules!)  So when OTHER people break them, I get upset.  Especially when they GET AWAY with them.  I follow the rules.  And I usually don't forget them.