AN EMB120 FLC EXPERIENCES A TEMPORARY LOSS OF ACFT CTL WHEN ENCOUNTERING WAKE TURB FROM AN MD88 3 PT 5 NM AHEAD N FINAL APCH TO ATL; GA.

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WE WERE ON A 15 MI FINAL AT 3500 FT MSL WHEN FINAL APCH TOLD US TFC TO FOLLOW WAS AT 3.5 MI; AN MD88 AT 4000 FT MSL. WE HAD VISUAL CONTACT AND WERE CLRED VISUAL APCH. I DID NOT ENJOY THE IDEA THE MD88 WAS 500 FT ABOVE US AND WOULD DSND THROUGH OUR FLT PATH. SO; WE SLOWED FROM 180 KIAS TO 160 KIAS ALLOWING MORE SEPARATION FOR THE WAKE TURB WE WOULD SOON ENCOUNTER. AUTOPLT WAS DISENGAGED AND WE EXPECTED AT GS INTERCEPT SOME TURB. THE ACFT ROLLED L 30 DEGS; THEN QUICKLY R 30 DEGS. WE INPUT OUR CTLS TO RECOVER. THE CTLR REMARKED TO AN ACFT BEHIND US WE DID NOT WANT TO OBEY HIS SPD. (YET WE WERE CLRED VISUAL APCH!) I WAS ON A VISUAL APCH AND HAD A LARGE ACFT THAT WOULD DSND THROUGH MY ALT. FOR SAFETY OF FLT; I ELECTED TO INCREASE FOLLOWING DISTANCE TO ALLOW THE WAKE TURB TO LESSEN ITS INTENSITY. I THINK CTLRS SHOULD ONLY PUT SAME TYPE TOGETHER IF THEY WANT TO SEND AN ACFT THROUGH ANOTHER ONE'S FLT PATH; ESPECIALLY AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE GND. WHEN I AM ON A VISUAL APCH; IT IS NOW MY RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN SEPARATION. WHEN AN ACFT OF A LARGER CATEGORY IS ABOVE MY ALT AND DSNDING. I WILL SLOW TO ALLOW SEPARATION TO INCREASE. ATC ONLY HAD US 3 MI -- I WANTED AT LEAST 4 MI.