How do I act as neurotypical as possible?

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My advice would be to accept yourself for who you are and don't be concerned with stereotypes that people may attach to you for having Asperger's and thus Autism.

We all have that desire to be normal and to act as NT as we can but this is literally impossible for people like us. In the process, you will stress yourself out to the point of experiencing "Autistic burnout" from suppressing your natural Autistic tendencies. Whether that be rocking back and forth like I do, or any other such mannerisms.

We need to express ourselves in those Autistic ways or else you will experience a great deal of stress and it may overwhelm you like it did me when I had a myocardial infarction (heart attack) at 34 years old due to "Autistic burnout". This happened because I became too stressed out and worried about acting normal and I attempted to suppress my natural Autistic tendencies and mannerisms and I paid for it dearly in the end.

As far as being sociable and likeable I wouldn't worry too much about that because being Autistic means you have a strong aversion towards socialization. Be comfortable with who you are and spend as much time alone as you can because for Autistics like us this is the time we need to "recharge our batteries". Without that alone time you will burn out very quickly.

Wanting a day job and the independence it brings is a good aspiration. The ability to make the sort of adjustments to fit the general expectations of the world and the workplace is one of those skills which makes this more straightforward.

However, if following all those conventions is not something which comes naturally, then those skills take energy, meaning that another part of the skill is choosing the sort of activities out of work which put that energy back. My late father managed to be a very respected acting head of department in his last working years, and when home he made sure he took at least one or two hours rest in the front room, alone, with music and the lights low or out. Keeping the balance is extremely important.

I balanced the social demands of my day job by making cycle trips on my own or with similarly eccentric members of my cycling club.

I would suggest looking back over how "Aspergers" was presented to you from age five onwards. Look for times when it seems to have made you feel you always have to do the extra work in order to be a good person, or that you were always someone with a problem they have to have extra help for. This sort of stuff can really wear one down without realising.

Look at doing some exercises in your imagination to work on that. One example might be imagining oneself with an ideal rather than actual parent and how the ideal parent would explain things.

It is useful building up tolerance to things like loud sounds at your own pace and being aware of stimming. Be aware though that all people have stims of one sort or another; surpressing long term is a bad idea, setting aside private time to stim in ways that keep you on an even keel. Incorporated into a little excercise routine first thing can set oneself up for the day.

"I don't want to be associated with those "lower functionings" that rock all day and bang their heads."
Your words come across as very unkind and reflect poorly on you

At times I have felt grateful I was assessed under my instigation aged 54 rather than under parents or teachers instigation age 4 or 5. I have never been sure whether a diagnosis at that age would have helped ,e by focussing some extra briefing or different teaching styles, or whether it would have hindered me by giving me a label to live down to, a reason for the less well informed teachers to regard me as the child with the problem so not worth much effort.

Like your father, I typically spend time every day unwinding after work. I cook my own dinner. I also work in the yard for an hour or two to get some exercise.

That's exactly how I feel. I was diagnosed at age 8 and everybody tells me that having a diagnosis in childhood is the best thing ever. But what you said describes how I feel about having a diagnosis at a young age.