Do you or your loved ones engage in masking autism? What are the potential effects?

Masking autism is a coping technique that a lot of individuals with neurodivergence learn and start engaging in from a young age. Oftentimes, a lot of late-diagnosed people don't realize the ways they mask their symptoms. When a person is diagnosed with autism, how they view the world and themselves changes. How others see them also changes.

To navigate through the world, they start masking their symptoms to fit into society. Unfortunately, our society is not fully equipped to accommodate individuals on the spectrum. While we are changing in many aspects, there is a long way to go.

Masking autism takes a lot of effort and is also linked to burnout in many cases. (Image via Pexels/ Tara Winstead)

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What are autism masking symptoms?

While we all try to fit in, people with autism have to do it even more. (Image via Pexels/ Polina Kovaleva)

Autism is a spectrum disorder that affects how people behave, interact, and communicate with others. Masking is when people hide their neurodivergent traits. They might change the way they communicate—their behavior, interests, and personalities—to suit the people they are with. While we all try to fit in with societal standards, for someone with the traits of autism, it is a different ballgame altogether.

Some of the autism masking examples are forcing eye contact and smiles, writing scripted conversations, pushing through sensory sensitivity, and many others. As you may imagine, individuals with autism do this to avoid being stigmatized.

A lot of young children with autism are susceptible to bullying in schools and even when they grow up. As a social survival strategy, they force themselves to behave in "normal" ways.

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How does masking autism affect individuals?

It can be very difficult to live in a society that sees differences as difficulties. (Image via Unsplash/ Hiki app)

Masking can be physically and mentally exhausting, especially when practiced for extended periods of time. It can leave children and young people feeling overwhelmed and experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety, which can lead to complicated mental health conditions. While in many cases, it can help you in social situations, it may slowly develop into burnout syndrome.

Masking takes tremendous effort and energy that chips away at the energy that could be used elsewhere in the teaching and learning experience.

It is important that we are able to identify signs and symptoms of masking so that we can intervene and children and young people can feel less lost and bewildered. A lot of celebrities with autism have opened up and unmasked their experiences. This allows many others to change their narrative as well.

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When you have been masking autism for all your life, the process of unmasking can be slow and take time. It takes a lot of mental effort, energy, and patience. It is important to remember that everyone is on a different journey and has their own pace. By working with a professional and your loved ones, you can slowly learn the process of unmasking autism.

While sometimes it becomes essential to put up a show to survive in society, in the long run, you don't have to go through it. There are individuals ready to support you for who and how you are.

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Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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