Imagine going through your day constantly monitoring your every move and carefully choosing your words. All so you can blend in, avoid judgment, or just get through the moment.

That’s what masking often feels like for many autistic people. It’s not about pretending to be someone else; it’s about minimizing the parts of yourself that others might not accept.

Masking and camouflaging are strategies autistic individuals use, often unconsciously, to minimize or hide traits and behaviors such as stimming in social settings. For some, it’s a way to be accepted. For others, it’s a matter of basic safety.

Though the two terms overlap, masking generally refers to suppressing visible signs of autism. Camouflaging includes broader tactics such as compensation, using learned strategies to navigate social situations, and assimilation, where one mimics neurotypical behavior to blend in.

Research has often focused on masking in autistic females, but the truth is, masking occurs across the entire autism spectrum. Even individuals with high support needs engage in masking,........

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