Masking in Autistic People

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Autism presents differently in males and females, leading to many autistic females being either ignored or misdiagnosed when they begin to seek answers for the symptoms they have shown since childhood. Part of the reason why misdiagnosis is so common within the female autistic community is due to something called ‘autistic masking', categorised by either copying neurotypical traits and hiding autistic traits.

What is autistic masking?

By definition, autistic masking is a survival strategy for autistic people. It is used to hide autistic symptoms or traits and to mimic the neurotypical. For many autistic individuals, masking is a way to avoid bringing attention to their neurodiverse behaviours and can help them feel like they can fit in better around people who have a limited understanding of autism.

These camouflaging behaviours can vary from person to person but can include; forcing or faking eye contact, hiding stimming or finding an alternative to the physical stims (hand flapping becomes finger twiddling), minimising special interests and scripting conversations. Hiding these traits are often extremely exhausting and can exacerbate mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and harmful behaviours.

Masking can also lead to an increase in meltdowns. When an autistic individual finally feels safe or comfortable enough to ‘de-mask' (for example: being at home or around other individuals with autism), the stresses of the day will build up and the tiniest sensory issue or other problem can lead to a meltdown. This is because the autistic person has been consistently dealing with situations that they find difficult and forcing themselves to be in environments that create anxiety but haven't been able to regulate their emotions in an effective enough manner, leading to a meltdown.

Autism masking at school

Masking in school can present in many different ways and it is often the reason why it takes years for many autistic people who identify as female to be diagnosed. It often presents as being eager to please, a hard worker and exceptionally quiet and compliant in lessons. Many undiagnosed autistic individuals could be seen as gifted pupils, excelling in multiple subjects, and often spending their own time reading or studying. This is all because the student is trying their hardest to fit in, even more so than their neurotypical peers.

Whilst teachers may overlook or not be able to notice the signs of autism in a child who is masking, classmates will. They'll notice the subtle autistic traits that the teachers can't see and ostracise the autistic child. That may seem like a harsh statement but throughout my education, I spent hours running over conversations in my head, copying peoples interactions and trying my best to fit in with any friend group that would consider to be my friend. But, my classmates could pick up on my disjointed and stuttered conversational skills, my inability to realise when I said something rude and the anxious way I'd chew on my fingers when being in a larger social group. In the end, I spent my last years in education tucked away in the library pouring over books and avoiding everyone in my class.

Whilst this is not the case for many autistic individuals that was my experience with autistic masking in a school setting.

How to spot autism masking?

There's not a set way to identify if someone is masking their autism, in some cases even the autistic individual is unaware that they're doing it. However, I have listed some of the common signs of autism found in girls which can also be signs of autism masking:

• -Mimicking others in social situations
• -Being passive or ‘just being shy'
• -Having few close friendships
• -Stopping themselves from stimming, an example of this would be lifting their arms to flap but instead stopping themselves and moving them down to their legs to fiddle with their fingers
• -forcing themselves to make eye contact

These are just a few of many different ways someone can mask their autism but are often the most common.

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