Do you need to know "details" about everything?

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My son is this way.

Any time I invite him somewhere or offer to help him with anything, he wants to know "the details". Some things just can't be known ahead of time and details can't be given.

Example: I offered to go over and help him straighten up his house. He wanted details. I told him that I would be over on Wed around noon and we can clean and straighten up his house. He wanted to know what 'straighten up his house' meant. I told him that we could pick up some of the boxes and go through things that he wanted to discard and/or keep and simply vacuum and dust. He wanted to know what stuff we were going to go through. At that point, I simply said that I would be over and we could decide what to do then.

Does anyone else need this much detail?

What is odd about wanting to know the date and time? He asked what you guys were going to be going through- lets say he has some stuff that he doesn't want you to see, or he wants to be able to estimate how long you guys are going to work on cleaning up the house.

Don't see what is odd about it.

I'd need more. Information is seldom, if ever, useless. And if anyone were to contemplate going through my stuff... That's serious.

And what stuff would matter even if I didn't feel that way; go through my CDs? An hour, tops. My fountain pens? A few hours, and I'd need to do something to keep the cats from getting their noses into stuff they shouldn't chew. My books? I'd need a month. Or a few months...

Your son's specifics will surely vary. But the point is, anything too open ended just doesn't establish what's going to happen.

I know that I don't like any surprises. You could say he just wants to know all the details so you don't do something he isn't expecting. It's rather simple to understand if you look at it that way.

I know everything.

Yes, I am this way too. When I get interested in something I try to learn as many details as I can. With cleaning our house, I like to know exactly what will be gone through ahead of time.

Hehe, I do feel the need to know all the details of things. Although, I do acknowledge that not everything is my business, so I try to not ask about details of other people's things.
As for going through my stuff and deciding what to keep and what to not keep... First of all, I don't allow other people into my place. Second, I don't really throw away anything that isn't ruined, destroyed and trash. On the other hand, I try not to obtain a lot of stuff. Still, I don't have a big place, so my place is kind of over-crowded with stuff that I might possibly use some day long with things I use pretty much every day. Hehe, I guess it's a bad habit, but I just can't help it. The feeling that I might use it one day is just too overwhelming and I can't get rid of anything.

I rarely make decisions unless I feel I have all the data. When I don't think I do, I either don't make a decision, or I expect someone to decide for me.

I am not comfortable unless I know ALL the details about a situation. What is expected, who I will see, what is going to be talked about, beginning and ending time, what is the exact itinerary, what activity options are available, what is everyone else doing/going. What does everything look/smell like. What is the weather going to do, are there any potential hazards to be aware of.

Sorry, but knowing the details helps me feel like life is not chaotic, and makes me feel like I am not completely out of control.

Trips are the worst about wanting potential details, but school is a close second. Cleaning can be overwhelming because there are so many details. I have trouble cleaning, but I also do not feel comfortable with someone else cleaning because I have a set way I would like everything to be placed if I did clean.

I need to know all of the details of what I am going to do, so I can make a clearstalcrys video in my mind of what I am going to do, so I can do it when I need to do it.

I would be very reluctant to let anyone(even my mom) touch my things, because I would want them to be handled carefully and put in exactly the places I would want them put(and also not thrown away just because it wasn't immediately obvious to her what they were).

I would also want to know exactly when she would arrive, because if I didn't know exactly and I just knew a range I would be ready for her to be there at the beginning of the range. If she wasn't there at the beginning of the range I'd be worried about whether she was really coming or whether something happened to her.

Absolutely always. I hate the feeling of not being prepared, and I will rarely if ever do anything spontaneous (if someone else has offered). If I decide to do something on the spot by myself that's different, as I know what I'm doing.

I have been called a control-freak because of this and I guess it's probably correct... but I can't help the feeling of anxiety and discomfort if I'm not informed of other people's plans when I'm involved in them too. Or the feeling I have pretty much all the time at the moment since I don't know what's happening with my LIFE in general (no future plan).

Plans are important!

Yes I do.

Wait, I thought needing to know all the details WAS Asperger's Syndrome.



Really, though, I constantly need to know the why, when, what, how, etc etc., even if the answer doesn't really 'matter' in the end. For instance, my boyfriend once asked if I had $2. I asked why, and he told me he wanted to get a soda from the machine. I responded that, no, I did not. He then got frustrated by the fact that I had asked why, because that apparently had led him to believe that I did have the money. I don't know why I asked, I just *had* to!

Definitely need the details.

And whilst I'm here ... Does anyone have a problem when a friend/acquaintance/colleague says "just pop in whenever". What the heck does that mean? How am I supposed to know when will be convenient or inconvenient for them? Give me a damn day and time please - how difficult is that to do ...