Psychology
What does Masking mean?
Hiding autistic (or ADHD) traits to pass as neurotypical: a script, a smile, a suppressed stim.
Definition
Masking, in autistic speech, is labour. Copying eye contact, rehearsing small talk, holding the stim. Hull and colleagues (2017) called this social camouflaging — “Putting on My Best Normal.” The CAT-Q (2018–19) tries to measure the effort on three fronts: compensation, masking and assimilation.
It can protect a job and delay a diagnosis, especially for women and AFAB people. Autistic burnout often arrives after years of the mask. ADHD also describes masks; the most studied cut is autism.
Origin
English brings mask and camouflaging. Lorna Wing already pointed to camouflage in autistic girls in 1981. Liane Holliday Willey published Pretending to Be Normal in 1999. Hull et al., in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2017), gave the research frame; the CAT-Q followed.
History
From memoirs and blogs the theme reached the paper and unmasking TikTok. Lawson proposed adaptive morphing; in the community masking stayed the umbrella. The cost — anxiety, delayed diagnosis, burnout — entered public speech in the 2010s–20s.
How it emerged
A name was missing for the effort the other person calls manners. A held stim and rehearsed gaze already existed; camouflaging and masking plated the invisible work of passing.
Usage examples
Her masking is so good the report was delayed a decade.
Taking the mask off at home is rest after the script.
Translations
- pt masking / camuflagem
- en masking
- es masking / camuflaje
Synonyms
- social camouflage
- CAT-Q
- passing