It all boils to how severely affected the individual is:
For me, a 26 years old man who is "officially" diagnosed with autistic disorder, but who can also be seen as AS by those who lump HFA/AS together: I'll take NT thanks.
I kinda left school in grade 11, I failed all of high school, I live at home with my mother, I've never worked a day in my life, I cannot socialize at all, I cannot talk to people at all (well, I'm saying 'Hello' back now); all of this is due to autism. All of it (I have the professionals to back me up here).
Frankly, apart from something recent, it's been a terrible ride for me since the onset of puberty.
But then, "officially" (see: DSM-IV-TR), I'm autistic rather than AS, but then again, the "god" of autism sees me as AS (Gilberg's criteria), so I have a say.