Do I need to be reassessed?

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I have a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome but when I've met others with AS, they are a lot higher functioning than I am.

I will list my symptoms. Is this classic autism or AS?

- daily meltdowns involving self harm
- quite severe sensory issues
- I need a full-time support worker at university
- I live in supported housing and still need it
- I find conversation extremely confusing
- I go through phases of being non-verbal
- I isolate myself as much as possible
- I struggle to understand what to say when people talk to me
- I never make eye contact
- I have severe flat affect
- in social occasions I will be hiding in the toilets with headphones on and stimming
- I stim almost constantly
- sometimes, or perhaps a bit often, my speech comes out confused and jumbled
- I react violently in response to any physical contact
- I am absolutely clueless on social customs
- I get obsessive very easily
- I have been arrested under the Mental Health Act for what I've done in meltdowns in public
- I get partial seizures when extremely stressed
- I have severe anxiety
- I have never had sex before and have zero interest in sex, love, relationships and starring a family
- I cannot manage my affairs alone
- I need help with things most people would find easy (paperwork, cooking simple meals etc)
- people have said I am very eccentric
- I talk formally all the time
- I have very few friends and don't like socialising
- I could spend weeks in solitary confinement easily, just so long as I have my textbooks and music

However I have an IQ of 160 (assessed by an educational psychologist) and I have a really good academic record.

I was expelled twice and suspended twice from schools for violent behaviour during meltdowns.

When I was assessed and given the diagnosis of Asperger's, my mum purposefully lied to the psychologist to make me look less severe as my mum is ashamed of me being disabled. Had she told the truth, it may have been classic autism. I was developmentally delayed (toilet training was delayed, didn't make emotional contact with my parents, motor skills delayed). I'm dyspraxic too. However my speech was developed normally but I taught myself to read at age 2. And when I learned how to speak, I didn't do it much, I preferred to read. Also my way of socialising when I was a kid was to scream and push people.

Your opinions please?

It's a spectrum anyway now, so don't worry. Asperger's is basically now written off and it's now Autism Spectrum Disorder, so refer to yourself how you like. Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or Asperger's, at the end of the day it's just a label, and neither tells you anything about your personality, only the troubles you may face ^^

You live in the UK so you're diagnosed under ICD. You wouldn't meet criteria for classic autism because you spoke on time and have above average intelligence. For classic autism to be diagnosed you'd need "global cognitive delay" aka intellectual disability AND/OR a significant language delay. So, you probably have Asperger's but a severe case of it.
If you lived in the States or Canada you'd get an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis under the new DSM 5.

Ok thanks.

I would say you still would be classified as having Aspergers. Like a few others posted, Aspergers specifically is no longer considered a "diagnosis" under the DSM V here in the US. It seems you are from the UK (using the word mum instead of mom) so idk what criteria they use there. But, basically Aspergers is classified with High Functioning Autism here and if you have average or above average intelligence and are ever verbal, you're considered high functioning. Each person on the spectrum is very different and unique so the fact that you require more support services really is neither here nor there. Also, as long as you're receiving the support services you need, I don't see any real benefit to being reassessed.

Makes sense.