Communication is the key
As I delve deeper and deeper into the meaning and symbolism of language, I get a better understanding of myself as a person.
As a child, I had plenty of resources available to me, and a body that was compatible with those resources.
When I went to kindergarten, the resources there were things I already had, so I was bored. I wanted to help, so I would get up and check if the other kids were doing ok. But since I was a 5 year old, if they weren't doing it right, I'd give them a little smack.
For obvious and correct reasons, this was not allowed. Because of how my brain stores information, that became the first boundary.
Don't touch other people. Keep to yourself.
So I pulled myself back in a bit. Reviewing my past in my mind, I now realize just how little I ever had physical contact with my friends after that point. Allowing for confirmation bias, as one does.
I wonder how much detail was provided when I was told NO. Was simply told "sit down, don't do that" or was I told "we don't hit people?" The information that I required to understand what was REALLY being said was "when you are in the classroom, the teacher is the one who helps, and you are the one who gets helped. If a peer asks for help, you are allowed to assist but otherwise do not interact with them. If a peer is incorrect, correct them verbally, not physically. If a peer is in need of more help than you can provide, tell the teacher."
Since I was 5, the language would have to be simpler, but the information ALL needs to be there. Since I was missing the details, I thought that everything about the situation was wrong. It didn't take me long to understand that the hitting was the WORST, but all the other factors become marked as BAD as well. I had to get opposing experiences in each situation before I understood that some of the things I thought were BAD were OKAY in certain situations and GOOD in others.
As I am typing this out, I am reminded of the methods of dog training I've read about that said you have to teach a dog a trick in each room of your house, if you want them to understand how to do the trick in each location. Except, instead of understanding the link between location and action, I was removing the location and situation from the equation and applying the result to the action alone.