Do you guys actually care about this?

I don't really either mind or care what it is called, as long as it is open to some sort of dialogue. But apart from the UK organisation who agreed with my own identification, almost no one really wants to talk about it, anywhere. I am, I suppose, not much more than a bit of a pain. But not so much of a pain that I would ever become a person of any great significance/notoriety. And somehow I remain fairly cheerful. With all the environmental, religious social and economic  problems in the World today, I'm sure most people would willingly sweep the whole issue of autism under the carpet. (We're on a road to nowhere!)

I get that.  Labels serve two purposes, don't they?; identity and as a passport to help and services.  They are two different ways of thinking about the language we use

Difficult one.

I've always believed each person has an absolute right to self-define anything about themselves, whether their autism, race, sexuality, gender, whatever.  I understand that other people might struggle to keep up with the preferred terms and worry about committing a faux pas if picking the wrong one.  

I think ultimately as long as there is no intent to insult, people will respect it if you say:  "I prefer X because of y". I wouldn't get upset if people didn't immediately pick what I would prefer.  That said certain terms like "different" rather than "disabled" create a useful, more positive shift in the discourse.

The thing is with functional labels when you look at the spectrum it does a lot more if you are lower on the spectrum because you need that diagnosis to get help. But as you go up on the spectrum it get's even harder and harder to get "good help" with that diagnosis this is my subjective opinion not being diagnosed all throughout school i have a very low opinion in how the system is operated in the uk.

You're right I just need to make a decision and just pick 

i think i would be confused if someone called me a textbook example of something too, Mr O. at the end of the day, it's more important to me (and I'm sure to you) to be happy with who you are and fulfilled with what you do. labels are just words that other people create to describe us (and sometimes divide us). but we are not the labels they give us. 

that's just how i see it anyway.

That's fair enough I've been thinking about it for couple of days I was re-reading my report, I was diagnosed in March this year and because of the changes in the DSM in 2013. (I'm sure you already know) I couldn't be diagnosed with Aspergers so its ASD/C but I remember the doctor who assessed me specifically saying that I am (accord to the DSM-IV) a "text book case of Aspergers syndrome" and it says in my report too that I have all the traits of someone with Aspergers yet my diagnosis is ASD. I kind of get confused about how I should refer to myself. Not necessarily because I'm worried about offending people but just because my report has that conflicting statement and also because of what he actually said to me during my assessment. And again too he said was explaining to my mum about how I'm high functioning as she was with me during the assessment but that's not on my report and I know there is some controversy in the autistic community about that too.

I think I'm just a bit confused about it.

no, not really, Mr O. i'm autistic, but that's about as far as i go with labels. that's why i call myself autistic guy. hopefully that gives enough information to understand that i might not behave in ways that are deemed normal. funnily enough i was talking to someone who works at the autistic charity today (she's my advocate) and she was telling me about how difficult it is today for many autistic people because they have to cope with so many changes in labels.