What do we mean by masking?

Autism and masking

You will often hear the word 'masking' in relation to Autism, but we also see masking commonly in many other areas of neurodivergence, such as ADHD.

We see masking in many genders, but in women and girls or those assigned female at birth, we can see it most commonly for a range of reasons.

What we mean by masking....

Some examples of how people may 'mask' include....

We have included some recent quotes (with consent) that give some insight into what an active and intense process masking can be for autistic / ADHD people:

Masking can be resourceful and can help people to 'get by' and 'fit in', but it can also take a significant toll on someone. It can lead them to 'burn out' and can contribute to overwhelming emotions, difficulties with identity and being overlooked in terms of assessment and identification of needs.

All people mask to a degree, for example, presenting yourself differently in a work context. However, the intensity of this and the areas it ranges to is much more for neurodivergent people and can occur through a huge range of interactions.

Many people describe that, despite working so hard on masking, they can still feel on the periphery of a social group and feel it is hard to fit in no matter what they try.

We often work with autistic people to support them therapeutically after many years of masking and to help them think about safely unmasking with the right people.

More to come in the coming weeks about unmasking and how this may look for people.