I was helping out a friend and she sent me a text message, "Please can you get me 5 x 4 pints of milk". Simple enough I thought and went to the supermarket. My friend clearly wants 20 pints of milk in 4-pint containers. I buy 5 my friend is happy.
When I get to the shop there are no 4-pint containers to be found. There is either 1 pint or 6 pints. I don't think my friend would be happy with 20 bottles of milk but does she want 20 pints, or would more or less be OK? What if she wanted the 4-pint container because it was the right size for her freezer?
I call her. The line is bad. I say, "There are only 6-pint containers." She says, "I only want 5." The line breaks off.
5 what? Pints? Not 20?
Oh no! I nearly bought 20.
I call her again. I shout down the receiver, "How many pints do you want?" She shouts back "20 pints." "They only have 6 pint containers, how many do you want, 18 or 24 pints?" I reply. "Get me 3 or 4 containers," she says.
3 or 4? 18 pints or 24 pints? Would one be too less and the other too much?
I asked "Would 18 be enough?" My friend said, "24 pints is fine."
I buy them.
Most people would have bought what they thought was right. I didn't want to waste my friends money or not get enough. Autism can hinder you at the moment others wouldn't even be bothered. It makes us very reliable and precise but sometimes causes us confusion. We are capable but you might just have to clarify on the phone the odd time.