Suppression of autistic behaviors and compensation of social difficulties in autistic people
Masking is the act of concealing autistic traits to come across as non-autistic, as if behind a mask
Autistic masking, also referred to as camouflaging or neurodivergent masking, is the conscious or subconscious suppression of autistic behaviors and compensation of difficulties in social interaction by autistic people with the goal of being perceived as neurotypical.[1][2]Masking is a learned coping strategy[3][4] that can be successful from the perspective of autistic people, but can also lead to adverse mental health outcomes.[1][5]