High-functioning, low-functioning. What's more common?

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A question. Imagine someone that have a genetical ("hard-wired") preference for loneliness and introspection (I suppose that these is perfectly possible).

What label you think is better for a person like that - "autistic" or "NT"?

Although the official means of identifying high functioning Autistics is the criteria of having an IQ 70 or above, I definitely wouldn't classify most people (unless conversing with them proved otherwise) with a verbal IQ of 70 to be high functioning, and this person certainly couldn't have AS. One trait that distinguishes those with AS from other disorders on the spectrum is the verbal adeptness characteristic of the disorder.

From my persepctive the difference between an eccentric NT and a high functioning autistic person is in how they perceive the world around themselves. For the austic person the sensory world perception is far more complex than for the NT but the difference can't really be explained to a regular person because there simply aren't words to describe what we see or how we see it. Personality idiosyncries are just the tip of the iceberg but many normal people see us by outward symptoms thinking that's all there is to it all.

The difference is that just being an introvert doesn't mean you are autistic. There are various factors/symptoms where some require a detached observer. That is why I do not agree with self-diagnosis, because someone who self-diagnoses doesn't necessarily understand autism. Do you know what it is like to have blunted affect? Do you know what it is like to not get idioms? Do you know how it is to not fair well in oral and written communication? Sometimes you can't even learn these things. So there is a big difference between an extremely introverted NT and someone with full-blown autism.

Not true at all, you're just pathologizing normal personality variation. NTs can be eccentric, they can be nerdy, they can be shy, they can even have social problems. So what you're saying isn't true at all.

All that type of thinking will lead to is unnecessary diagnosis of people who don't have the issues that come with autism, granted they have their own issues with very different needs.

It is my experiences that few so-called experts even understand Autism at all or see it as a problem exclusive to young boys. The few who seemed to have some knowledge all told me it was pretty evident I had it although they lacked the ability to formally diagnose adults.

In my case, many people just call me introverted. I am not (more in the middle) but if they want to use that label it's easier than trying to explain Aspergers/HFA.