For the past few months, I’ve been hearing about the practice of “masking” among autistics. Masking, also known as camouflaging, is the practice of artificially performing certain social behaviors in order to fit in with the neurotypical world.
This can include mimicking social behaviors and repressing certain autistic behaviors, such as stimming. It has been reported that many autistic people do this.
For instance, one study showed that many autistic people mask in order to connect with others, find a job, or even gain a romantic partner.
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