Do I have Asperger’s or not? [NVLD diagnosed person]

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Hi all

I am a Dutch 23 year old man and I have some questions whether I fit the Asperger’s category or not. In my mid-teens I was diagnosed with NVLD (nonverbal learning disability) mainly based on a major discrepancy in my WAIS IQ score and also some behavioural problems (rebellious etc.) – my VIQ was in the gifted range while my PIQ was in the low average range. I was forced to take the neuropsychological evaluation because of troubles at school (mainly with teachers and staff).

The psychologist at the time wanted to also give me a PDD-NOS diagnosis, but was hesitant to do so because I do have basic social skills (e.g. even though I dislike eye contact I can force myself to maintain it and I respond relatively ‘normally’ to people). However, I absolutely dislike socializing in general and it gives me anxiety and major headaches. Also, crowded or sensory intensive places can make me mentally and physically ill if I spend too much time there. This seems very Asperger-like to me, but I am not sure if I completely fit the bill due to my ability to fake neurotypical behaviour when forced to, dislike for routines (I am very random in my behaviour and require frequent change), and I am bit doubtful whether I have social anxiety or Asperger’s as it is difficult to tell the difference between the two.

I realise that you can’t get a proper diagnosis from a forum, but perhaps some of you who are more knowledgeable on Asperger’s can help me out here.

NVLD is often regarded as merely being a learning disorder that doesn’t affect a person in everyday life, but in my opinion this isn’t true as it can affect you in many ways (e.g. simple things like driving a car can become a huge mental drain and a dangerous activity). It also limits your range of employment opportunities, but since it is only considered a ‘learning disorder’ and not a pervasive developmental one (like ASDs are) it is much harder to apply for disability benefits.

Eventually I do want to work, but at the moment I am unable to find suitable employment matching my education history and I do not want to do boring nonverbal intensive jobs which regular unemployed people over here are forced to do. Thus, I want to know whether I fit one of the ASDs or not in order to temporarily use disability benefits.