Am I an Aspie?

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Hi,
I realise I need a clinical diagnosis but was curious to see if others can see the Aspie in me before I cough up $600 on the consultation. All of the online tests I have done are "likely to be Aspergers"
My sister has taught many an Aspie, when she told me of the quirks the kids displayed... I had all of them.
I Hate when things are moved, uncomfortable when I can't see out, mildly upset when routine or plans are disrupted, dislike hugs and touching and prefer people to be on my physical right side(weird huh?)
I'm Male, 41 and everyday is groundhog day. I have a great job but barely interact with the people I work with, I try and talk to some of the people I work with - mostly just to reduce the weirdness index , Others in the office I am intimidated by and wouldn't dare talk to unless cornered in the lift. I have a problem saying " See you Tommorow" at the end of the workday
and usually wait for everyone else to leave - forcing that social niceity onto someone else.
I hate small talk, I don't care what your kids did in school, what movie you saw or if it's going to rain or not, If your going to talk about something of substance count me in, otherwise i'm not interested.
I'm good with facial expressions although I sometimes monitor too closely and might misjudge a positive as a negative or see a minor negative and take it as being worse than it is.
I generally Think more about the mechanics of social interaction rather than the experience of having it... What to say?, how to say it, voice tone and pitch, how close to the other person?, to interested?, not interested enough?, does the other person want to leave? are they just talking to me to be nice? should I ask that or is it to personal?.
Eye contact is something I have learnt and is something I do consciously... I'll think 5 seconds is enough, look down fow a while and regain eye contact and wonder if i'm staring.
Whats black and white and read all over?... A newspaper.. that childhood riddle took me years to work out as I always took the literal sounding "red".
If someone around me is in distress, I understand and have empathy but I don't know how to react in a sponteneous way.
I was in my 30's before I realised that other peoples motivations were not in-line with mine and thought people danced because they liked dancing, it was a great revelation that people were flirting at the same time.
I have a constant anxiety which I feel as pressure in my jaw and teeth and a thumping fogness through which I percieve the world.
I have a gambling addiction and fool myself every month that I have it beat only to walk past a venue and loose a grand on an impulse.
Not sure I have a special interest(gambling?), I'm a total news junkie and most of my conversations are about current afairs or some interesting fact I have learnt about the world.
My symptoms were much worse as a child, I barely spoke to my parents apart from having my needs met.
Things are better as an adult as I have learnt alot about how things work.
I would appreciate your thoughts on my Aspergers status... Or if it's avoidant personality or just garden variety social phobia
I'd write more but my radio program I listen to before I go to bed is about to start.

Thanks
D.

You should go see a psychiatrist or therapist instead of asking random people on a message board.

Also, if it turns out that you don't have Asperger's, it's not the end of the world. Having Asperger's is overrated anyway. >.>

Thats why I wrote in the first sentence "I realise I need a clinical diagnosis"
the issue I have is if you see a Social Phobia specialist or avoidant specialist or anxiety specialist or OCD specialist or ADHD specialist and I'm assuming an Aspergers specialist then your diagnosis is more likely to go that way as well..
I posted this to see if any of these issues resonated with people Aspergers.

There's some online tests around. In fact there's as sticky thread somewhere with a list of them. I'm in a rush ATM, and don't remember where it is -- I think it's by user "Scientist."

Some of them rdos's test, AQ test, "eyes" test, ... erg memory blank, sry

Being normal is overrated, as well.

Being overrated is overrated.

There is one question that is not addressed in your original post, and I think it is central to the question in your topic.

How does this affect your life?

To be honest, the only thing you have identified that has a clear, and unequivocal clinical significance is your gambling addiction. That's not to say that your other traits do not have clinical significance, but rather that you have not given us enough insight.

In my case, my deficits as a child and as an adolescent had profound impacts. I was extremely isolated from my peers, and did not really start to form healthy social relationships until I was in university. I have learned many skills in my late teens, twenties and thirties, and by and large I am content with my circumstances. However, from time to time I still have trouble dealing with things, and experienced a significant business/financial crisis about 6 years ago that led to my diagnosis.

Most of us who are old enough not to have had access to a diagnosis as children or as teens have navigated through life and improvised coping skills and filters to get us to where we are today. By and large, we are functioning, healthy and perhaps even happy (if somewhat quirky) members of society. But when those coping skills fails, our fundamental social deficits are revealed for what they truly are. We don't stop being Aspies just because we have learned to fake it.

So, to return to your original question, perhaps you are an Aspie. If your traits mean that you need help, even just from time to time, to make sense of the world around you, then probably you are (or at least you would benefit from some help and support, whether the basis is AS, social anxiety or avoidant personality, or any of a thousand other possibilities).

Here's a better question to ask you're self if you don't have Asperger does that change you as a person? If you don't have it does it chage you as a person. You are who you are no matter if you have aspergers or not.

When I get tested in July and it turns out it was all just ADD well I'm still the same person as I was today. If it turns out I do have Asperger's which I with my hole heart believe I have I'm still the same person. And you know what normal not nomral who cares.

Re: my "overrated" comment: I don't think my AS is some amazing gift that makes me beyond mere NTs. Seriously, not everyone with AS sees it the same way others do.