Autism Insights: Masking

„So called „mild“ autism doesn‘t mean one experiences autism mildly.

It means you experience their autism mildly.

You may not know how hard they‘ve worked to get to the level they are.“

• Masking is any behavior used to hide autistic traits to fit into a neurotypical world
• Women tend to mask far more then men do, due to cultural pressure for women as to „fit in“ socially
• Autistics are „masters of disguise“, and learn to do so at an eraly age and can lose touch with their true self
• Masking is the main reason women are underdiagnosed/ misdiagnosed
• Masking takes many forms, ranging from pretendig to enjoy a social interaction, to succeed at work/ school, and to suppress the urge to stim freely in front of others
• Most importantly, masking takes a huge amount of energy and can lead to having frequent meltdowns, shutdowns and also burnout – these can last for days or even weeks
• Many woman who mask may have been doing it their whole lives without even knowing it or being aware of it, and that their well-trained/ internalized behavior-skills are referred to the term, also known as “autistic masking”.

Masking and Burnout

Many autistics hide their autistic traits and wear a neurotypical „mask“ on a day-to-day basis. For some individuals, this is a form of self-protection: “If you cannot tell i am different you cannot treat me differently”, while others are traumatized; trained or being forced to hide their neurodivergent traits.

Early interventions and therapies encourage this behavior, and for some, being „Indistinguishable“ from our neurotypical peers is the ultimate goal. This takes a huge amount of tima and effort – but masking is not sustainable.

Burnout occurs when the weight of masking and „passing as neurotypical“ exhausts an individual’s resources and coping skills. It may present itself similarly to a depressive episode, and trigger a regression. Loss of skills, physical illness and/or mental health issues are common symptoms which occur during an autistic burnout.

Hiding who you truly are is an uncomfortable and exhausting (life) experience. For many autistic individuals, that experience has become a daily reality. In places where the full spectrum of neurodiversity is not understood or welcomed, people with autism often feel the need to present or perform in social behaviors that are considered as neurotypical. Some may also feel that they have to hide their neurodiverse behaviors at any cause, in order to be accepted.

Masking autism may sometimes help protect one from being “outed” or harassed at. This behavior is not always intentional, which also can lead to great confusion about one’s own personal identity. Regardless, if it happens intentionality or not – masking can also lead to serious health consequences – so it’s all the more important to understand the behavior and its effects on autistics whom regularly mask their neurodivergent behaviors.

What Is Autism Masking?

Masking, which is referred to as a form of compensating, is a social survival strategy. Masking can include behaviors like:

• Forcing or faking eye-contact during conversations
• Imitating smiles and other facial expressions
• Copying certain phrases/ sentences and even dialects
• Mimicking gestures
• Hiding or minimizing personal interests, desires and needs
• Developing a repertoire of rehearsed responses to questions and being prepared for upcoming social gatherings as for engaging in small-talk and having conversations
• Scripting conversations and memorizing them
• Pushing through intense sensory discomfort/ sensory overload, which include loud noises and bright lights etc.
• Disguising stimming behaviors (hiding a jiggling foot, snapping fingers, hand flapping) and trading a preferred movement for one that’s less obvious = secret stimming

People may mask autism for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Feeling safe and avoiding stigma/ judgment/ rejection
• Avoiding mistreatment or bullying
• Succeeding at work/ school
• Attracting a romantic partner
• Making friends and other social connections
• Fitting in or feeling a sense of belonging

What Are The Stages Of Autism Masking?

Although masking can look different from person to person, it can be described as “basic three-stage model” of the process: motivation, masking, and the consequences.

Masking begins when a neurodivergent person recognizes that something important hinges on being perceives as neurotypical. Maybe it’s friendship. Maybe it’s a job opportunity. Maybe it’s personal safety. Whatever the motivation, an autistic person may feel they must hide their differences or change the way they naturally act – often because their living or working environment doesn’t tolerate, support, or respect neurodivergent behaviors.

When people feel they have to compensate for autism characteristics, they have to invest a lot of time and energy in trying to “pass” as a neurotypical. They might:

• Learn social cues from various forms of media such as from tv-shows and movies
• Observe and analyze social interactions between people around them
• Monitor their own facial expressions and body language
• Research social rules and social norms
• Practice appearing interested or relaxed
• Adjust their tone of voice to match other people’s vocal patterns

Equipped with these observations and skills, an autistic person can then use them in social situations to varying effects. Some people are so effective at masking that no one can tell they’re pretending or performing. Others are less effective at masking.

Either way, the cognitive and emotional effort affects people’s mental and physical health. People who mask regularly often feel drained and exhausted by their effort of trying to conform to neurotypical standards of behavior.

What Are The Effects Of Autism Masking?

While masking may have certain benefits, it’s important to note that there are significant costs. Time spent learning neurotypical behaviors, is time not invested in other kinds of personal development. And the effort used to copy neurotypical interactions can quickly lead to social overload.

Here are some of the effects of regular masking:

• Stress and anxiety: Higher in people who routinely mask autistic traits
• Symptoms of Depression: Feel unaccepted by people in their social sphere
• Exhaustion: Masking consumes huge amounts of energy, by the constant effort
• Delayed identification of autism: Some people are so successful with masking that their autism isn’t identified until they are much older. That delay can lead to mental health issues because they don’t get the support or understanding they need.
• Loss of identity: Some people who mask their identity, interests, and traits end up feeling that they no longer know who they really are.
• Risk of autistic burnout: When people push themselves to behave in ways that don’t feel authentic, the result can be an overwhelming feeling of overload, sometimes called “autistic burnout”.
• Increased risk of suicidal thoughts: Prolonged masking is linked to “lifetime suicidality”. Masking leads to feeling like a burden, which in turn leads to more suicidal thoughts over the course of a lifetime.