So what is autism masking? Autism masking is a term used when children with ASD learn, practice and perform certain behaviours and suppress others to fit in with the people around them.
Signs you are Masking Autism Through Pretending
☑ Conversations feel unnatural and don't flow smoothly. ☑ You often find yourself pretending to be "normal" in social situations. ☑ You rely on the support or presence of others to navigate social interactions.
The detrimental long-term effects of having to mask include: Autistic fatigue or autistic burnout (severe exhaustion accompanied by other difficulties, including increased meltdowns or shutdowns). Rejection of their own identity, impacting self-esteem. Mental ill-health, including anxiety and depression.
Across genders, masking is associated with more symptoms of generalized and social anxiety, as well as depression. One study found that those who said they used masking had higher rates of suicidality. Autistic individuals also report extreme anxiety and stress after spending time suppressing their natural behaviors.
Signs of Masking
If you notice that you tend to look to others before deciding what to do in various situations, you might be masking by mimicking their behavior. If you do not feel like these choices come naturally to you, and you instead try to copy what you see, you might be masking your social behavior.
In conclusion, a major indicator of autism masking in children is when they're a completely different child at home to when they are not at home. (i.e., From being in a safe place to being in a non-safe space).
Some participants also wrote about masking being unconscious, being unaware that they were “masking,” but knowing that they had to hide parts of themselves “I have spent my life masking without knowing I was doing it” (ND- woman, 47).
Over time we may become more aware of our own masking, but it often begins as an unconscious response to social trauma before we even grasp our differences.
It's critical to understand what's going on because camouflaging is associated with many adverse outcomes in autistic individuals, like higher anxiety and depression. We are seeing studies that show masking in girls as young as 7 or 8 years old on the school playground.
Coping mechanisms are strategies or behaviors that individuals use to manage or deal with challenging or distressing situations. Masking, as a coping mechanism, involves concealing one's true emotions, thoughts, or struggles as a way to navigate social situations or cope with internal difficulties.
Masking refers to hiding your authentic self in an effort to gain greater social acceptance. The costs of camouflaging your true personality and emotions can add up exponentially, causing you to experience a sense of loss, anxiety, and depression. Learn more about what masking is and how to deal with it.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Therefore, it appears that while some individuals may be aware they are autistic, others may not fully understand why they have difficulties connecting with people socially or engaging in conversation - yet still realize they are 'different.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.
When regularly done, masking can lead to autistic burnout. Autistic burnout is the extreme fatigue — mental, physical and emotional exhaustion — that results from constantly hiding your natural traits.
ADHD masking is a way of hiding symptoms through learned behaviors that can be healthy or unhealthy. Many people with ADHD break social rules through their behaviors and may face shame and ridicule. As a result, they develop coping strategies to hide parts of themselves.
Can Autism Get Worse If It's Not Treated? Yes, negative symptoms associated with autism can worsen over tie when autism goes untreated, if someone's disorder is misdiagnosed or if the diagnosis is delayed. Children may not have the resources they need to develop sufficient social skills if their autism goes untreated.
Autism is not an illness
It means your brain works in a different way from other people. It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life.
It's quite common for autistic children who do not appear to have any behavioural difficulties at school to behave differently at home.
This is what's known as ADHD masking. It happens when a person tries to hide their ADHD symptoms to blend in with the crowd and protect themselves from judgment. This is done by mimicking the behaviors of those around them. In some instances, it can be a helpful strategy.
There are three major areas of undiagnosed autism in adults. Those include social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive or ritualistic behaviors.
What do these findings add to what was already known? Our findings suggest that some aspects of masking do not just affect autistic people (such as feeling like people do not know the real you), but other parts might be more unique to autistic people (such as hiding stims from other people).
trying to stay still. copying others behaviour. forcing ourselves to use facial expressions and smile. learning conversation topics others might be interested in.
Clonakilty in County Cork, Ireland, and Austin in Minnesota, United States are two communities that have chosen to embrace neurodiversity, and more specifically, autism.