Light on? Light off?

As I have talked about before. Routine and the need to keep things constant is important to those with
Aspergers. Little changes that to me, or those who are not on the spectrum, things that seem insignificant can make all the difference.

I found out the importance of routines when my partner and I were first together. I found out about her breakfast routine, she always eats before getting out of bed. She has a routine for putting her clothes on in the morning, socks first, which is mad socks are the last thing I put on. Most everyday activities have some sort of routine or similarity to them, that's how she likes it and that's how it should be done.

Then one night at hers, we shut her bedroom door, went to bed and her mum turned the hallway light off.



All hell breaking loose would be a little dramatic, but still it caused a bit of a stir. My other half heard the light go off, went out turned it back on then came in and insisted that the light never went off. She was obviously upset and kept repeating that her mum knows the light never goes off.

I tried to reason, to interject that maybe the light had been turned off because the bedroom door was shut. The light wasn't coming into the room, so it didn't need to be on.

It didn't work. The light has stayed on for years at night, it is part of the routine and even that little disruption caused her to get upset. They say its not always the little things that matter, but in some cases, and with some people the little things can mean everything.