Following Rules

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Do Autism people have trouble following rules?

Not particularly, as far as I know. I guess if the rules are clear then we might follow them more carefully and rigidly than NTs do. Against that, I've heard that we can have problems with authority, which might tempt us to disobey rules especially if they seem stupid. It may be that we think for ourselves more.

I'm a bit of a mixture like that myself. If the source of the rules hasn't earned my trust and I'm feeling confident in my own ability to judge for myself the wisdom or morality of my actions, I might get rather autonomous and non-compliant. But I tend to be open to reconsidering my behaviour and so if I'm breaking a rule then I'm often not sure I'm doing the right thing, and the same applies if I'm obeying a rule. Of course a lot depends on whether the rule is convenient or not, on whether I think it has a strong upside or a downside. And the consequences of getting caught disobeying, that's something I take seriously. I tend to obey rules if there's no particular reason not to, just out of courtesy.

I have trouble following rules I disagree with.

I'm generally pretty good about following rules if they are well stated.

What I'm not so good at is following rules that I don't realize are rules.

By living a more intentional life (as opposed to more reflexive) one tends to evaluate rules in terms of their applicability. This may result in less rule following if the rule is determined to be one not worth following.

Some people with autism actually find comfort in rules and routines because it gives them a sense of structure. Others might have a harder time with certain rules, especially if they don’t fully understand the reason behind them.

Ah, unwritten unstated rules. I hate those things. "You should have known," they say, if they bother to say anything. But I didn't know, because nobody told me. They're not always obvious. I wish the world would try harder to be clear. I can't spend my whole life trying to divine things from the context. Still, I suppose I've figured enough of it out to get by. It's not been easy though.

My understanding was we were good at following nonharmful rules we understand.

(Good thing, too! That saved me from a whole lot of trouble when someone tried to trick me into serious trouble!)