How do I know if my daughter is masking?

You know when your child is not OK, even if their school has not picked up on the signs. All children are different, but if they change character when they go from school to home, or go into meltdown, or appear exhausted, it might be a sign that they are masking in public.


How do you recognize masking?

Signs you or someone you support may be masking include:
  1. Mirroring others' facial expressions or social behaviors.
  2. Rehearsing or preparing scripted responses to comments.
  3. Imitating gestures such as handshakes or initiating eye contact.
  4. Noticeable difficulty with disguising autistic traits in unfamiliar environments.


At what age do autistic girls start masking?

It's critical to understand what's going on because camouflaging is associated with many adverse outcomes in autistic individuals, like higher anxiety and depression. We are seeing studies that show masking in girls as young as 7 or 8 years old on the school playground.


What is masking a symptom of?

Masking is a complex and costly survival strategy for autistic people. It generally involves intentionally learning neurotypical behaviors and mimicking them in social situations. Sometimes masking focuses on hiding behaviors that people feel won't be accepted.

What does it mean when a child is masking?

Masking is a word used to describe something seen in many children with ASD – when they learn, practice, and perform certain behaviours and suppress others in order to be more like the people around them.


How do I know if my child is masking?



What are examples of masking?

Examples of masking can include, but are not limited to:
  • Mimicking the social behaviour of others, including gestures or facial expressions.
  • Deliberately forcing or faking eye contact during conversations.
  • Hiding or underplaying their own intense interests.


How do you help a child who is masking?

Even if your child's behaviours do not present in school, there are lots of simple strategies that the school can use to reduce anxiety, such as: • keeping things as structured and predictable as possible • using visuals to support instructions • avoiding non-literal language • giving clear warnings prior to change It ...

What mental illnesses cause masking?

What mental health conditions are most often associated with masking? According to Theresa, the term masking has historically been associated with autism and ADHD, although nowadays it's used by people living with all kinds of mental health conditions.


Is masking just an autistic thing?

Our findings suggest that some aspects of masking do not just affect autistic people (such as feeling like people do not know the real you), but other parts might be more unique to autistic people (such as hiding stims from other people).

What is masking in ADHD?

If you hide your adult ADHD symptoms from other people, that's called masking. Basically, you're trying to seem more “normal” or “regular.” ADHD causes some people to act hyperactive or impulsive. It makes other folks have trouble paying attention. And still other adults have a combination of those symptoms.

How do you tell if a girl is masking autism?

Signs that someone is masking their autism include:
  • Copying or mirroring the facial expressions, actions and behaviours of others.
  • Pre-empting responses to people, perhaps by writing them down or practising them.
  • Suppressing their physical symptoms and instead fidgeting.


What are signs of autism in females?

Female Autism Checklist
  • Resistance to touching.
  • Having a preference to spend time alone.
  • An inability to look at people or start a conversation.
  • Trouble recognizing social cues and nonverbal forms of communication.
  • Talking excessively about a select subject, even if others are not responsive.


What can mimic high functioning autism?

Conditions That Mimic Autism
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) The symptoms of OCD, such as compulsive hand washing, cleaning or touching items like doorknobs, can resemble the repetitive motions of autism. ...
  • Antisocial personality disorder. ...
  • Schizophrenia. ...
  • Learning disorders. ...
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)


What is emotional masking?

In recent developmental studies, masking has evolved and is now defined as “concealing one's emotion by portraying another emotion”. It is mostly used to conceal a negative emotion (usually sadness, frustration, and anger) with a positive emotion.


What is Neurodivergent masking?

Masking is a term explaining how neurodivergent people feel the need to camouflage in social situations to appear neurotypical. Masking is a form of social survival displayed in different ways depending on the behaviours the individual wants to conceal.

What is high functioning autism?

“High-functioning autism” isn't an official medical term or diagnosis. It's an informal one some people use when they talk about people with an autism spectrum disorder who can speak, read, write, and handle basic life skills like eating and getting dressed. They can live independently.

Is masking a trait of ADHD?

ADHD masking may also be called "camouflaging." This is when someone with ADHD tries to cover up their symptoms by copying the behaviors of people who don't have it. ADHD masking may be a way for some people with ADHD to fit in socially, avoid being stigmatized, or feel more accepted.


Can a child mask autism at school?

This is a common situation for children in schools who mask when they are in the classroom, meaning teachers do not see anything that would lead them to believe the child is autistic, but at home they can drop the mask and parents and carers notice behaviours not seen in school….

Do autistic children behave differently at home?

It's quite common for autistic children who do not appear to have any behavioural difficulties at school to behave differently at home. Tony Attwood refers to this as the Jekyll and Hyde character (Attwood, 1998). In section, we look at some of the reasons behind this behaviour, and offer tips to parents and carers.

What is masking anxiety?

Some people become anxious when wearing a face mask or just thinking about wearing a face mask. This would be what some are calling face mask anxiety.


What is masking trauma?

Ultimately, masking or camouflage means hiding who you are in order to fit in. When you experience trauma and/or rejection for being who you truly are, it's common to think you need to hide these traits to survive.

What is masking in Aspergers?

Masking may involve suppressing certain behaviours we find soothing but that others think are 'weird', such as stimming or intense interests. It can also mean mimicking the behaviour of those around us, such as copying non-verbal behaviours, and developing complex social scripts to get by in social situations.

What is masking in girls?

Masking or camouflaging is artificially performing social behavior that is deemed to be more socially acceptable (by neurotypical standards) or hiding behavior that might be viewed as socially unacceptable (1).


How do I know if my child is masking autism?

You know when your child is not OK, even if their school has not picked up on the signs. All children are different, but if they change character when they go from school to home, or go into meltdown, or appear exhausted, it might be a sign that they are masking in public.

How do I know if I have undiagnosed autism?

Main signs of autism

finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling. getting very anxious about social situations. finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own. seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to.