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Interesting article on "autism camouflaging"

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Keladry
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06 Aug 2017, 11:46 am

Autism Camouflaging


This article portrays a research study on camouflaging in males and females, and rates a higher incidence of it in females.



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06 Aug 2017, 2:08 pm

It is a very good article. Unless you are feeling resilient today stay away from the comments.


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11 Aug 2017, 11:59 pm

BURDEN OF CARE??? We are not a burden and we don't all need that kind of "care".

Yes, I was looking at the comments. I don't feel too resilient today so I'll look again some other time.

I used to mask my autism not knowing what it was, only that I had to hide it. Now I don't. And I seem more non-autistic, ironically, now that I've accepted myself. And stopped caring if I looked/acted autistic or not. But if I still seem autistic, as long as it's not hurting anyone, that should be cool too.



Keladry
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12 Aug 2017, 6:26 pm

I made the mistake of reading the comments too. It's interesting how the commenters treated masking/camouflaging as a bad thing, like we are trying to pull one over on them or fool them or something. Seriously, what? "Masking" is simply a survival mechanism and is necessary to try to interact with people in a way they understand. Instead they should focus on the fact that the person who is masking/camouflaging obviously cares about them very much to spend untoward amounts of energy and time trying to interact with them in a way that they understand. Maybe the commenters should also be trying to expend energy to understand and meet the needs of the aspie. It's a two-way street, and it shouldn't always be us who has to try to be someone we aren't, at the expense of our sanity, health, and energy. They should meet us halfway.



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29 Aug 2017, 3:24 am

I wonder why girls camouflage more. Is it some hormone difference or are the expectations from girls different, even in the very early childhood?
I used to cry a lot when I was a kid. Maybe if I was a boy, peers would tell me boys don't cry, I mustn't cry. What next? Anger and agression instead of crying? Maybe. So maybe fighting instead of complying. That would make the diagnosis easier.

I'm glad the researchers started to examine the issue systematically.


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29 Aug 2017, 5:43 am

Keladry wrote:
I made the mistake of reading the comments too. It's interesting how the commenters treated masking/camouflaging as a bad thing, like we are trying to pull one over on them or fool them or something. Seriously, what? "Masking" is simply a survival mechanism and is necessary to try to interact with people in a way they understand. Instead they should focus on the fact that the person who is masking/camouflaging obviously cares about them very much to spend untoward amounts of energy and time trying to interact with them in a way that they understand. Maybe the commenters should also be trying to expend energy to understand and meet the needs of the aspie. It's a two-way street, and it shouldn't always be us who has to try to be someone we aren't, at the expense of our sanity, health, and energy. They should meet us halfway.


Yes. That was damn peculiar. They interpreted it as part of some evil strategy to hide an autistic identity, with some long term goal in mind......yet the people who mask generally have no idea they are autistic, and they only do it to avoid being mistreated, not to achieve any sort of goal.

NT projection at its finest. It tells you a lot about those people.


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29 Aug 2017, 6:40 am

I feel a bit guilty coming in here with it headed Women's Discussion yet I did come in because the subject sounded well worth looking at.
And oh yes, correct about the comments!


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29 Aug 2017, 6:46 am

Keladry wrote:
I made the mistake of reading the comments too. It's interesting how the commenters treated masking/camouflaging as a bad thing, like we are trying to pull one over on them or fool them or something. Seriously, what? "Masking" is simply a survival mechanism and is necessary to try to interact with people in a way they understand. Instead they should focus on the fact that the person who is masking/camouflaging obviously cares about them very much to spend untoward amounts of energy and time trying to interact with them in a way that they understand. Maybe the commenters should also be trying to expend energy to understand and meet the needs of the aspie. It's a two-way street, and it shouldn't always be us who has to try to be someone we aren't, at the expense of our sanity, health, and energy. They should meet us halfway.

underwater wrote:
Yes. That was damn peculiar. They interpreted it as part of some evil strategy to hide an autistic identity, with some long term goal in mind......yet the people who mask generally have no idea they are autistic, and they only do it to avoid being mistreated, not to achieve any sort of goal.
NT projection at its finest. It tells you a lot about those people.

Right on :!: :D 8) :heart:


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15 Sep 2017, 3:02 pm

magz wrote:
I wonder why girls camouflage more. Is it some hormone difference or are the expectations from girls different, even in the very early childhood?
I used to cry a lot when I was a kid. Maybe if I was a boy, peers would tell me boys don't cry, I mustn't cry. What next? Anger and agression instead of crying? Maybe. So maybe fighting instead of complying. That would make the diagnosis easier.

I'm glad the researchers started to examine the issue systematically.


I would theorize that girls camouflage more easily because we are (usually) taught to pay more careful attention to social cues, and thereby we are also taught to recognize which of our behaviors make others uncomfortable, and then, consequently, repress those behaviors.


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15 Sep 2017, 3:15 pm

underwater wrote:
Keladry wrote:
I made the mistake of reading the comments too. It's interesting how the commenters treated masking/camouflaging as a bad thing, like we are trying to pull one over on them or fool them or something. Seriously, what? "Masking" is simply a survival mechanism and is necessary to try to interact with people in a way they understand. Instead they should focus on the fact that the person who is masking/camouflaging obviously cares about them very much to spend untoward amounts of energy and time trying to interact with them in a way that they understand. Maybe the commenters should also be trying to expend energy to understand and meet the needs of the aspie. It's a two-way street, and it shouldn't always be us who has to try to be someone we aren't, at the expense of our sanity, health, and energy. They should meet us halfway.


Yes. That was damn peculiar. They interpreted it as part of some evil strategy to hide an autistic identity, with some long term goal in mind......yet the people who mask generally have no idea they are autistic, and they only do it to avoid being mistreated, not to achieve any sort of goal.

NT projection at its finest. It tells you a lot about those people.


I have to assume most of those comments are posted by 12 year olds with too much time on their hands, who only read articles on autism for ammunition with which to ridicule others. It doesn't make any sort of rational sense, that people they already regard as ret*ds are engaging in some sly subterfuge in order to plot against NT society. There's no internal logic to it at all.


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15 Sep 2017, 3:35 pm

will@rd wrote:
underwater wrote:
It doesn't make any sort of rational sense, that people they already regard as ret*ds are engaging in some sly subterfuge in order to plot against NT society. There's no internal logic to it at all.
Oh, it is perfectly logical -- if you have your tinfoil anti-conspiracy hat on to keep us ret*ds from beaming HAARP waves in to your mind. :lol:


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15 Sep 2017, 4:14 pm

will@rd wrote:
underwater wrote:
Keladry wrote:
I made the mistake of reading the comments too. It's interesting how the commenters treated masking/camouflaging as a bad thing, like we are trying to pull one over on them or fool them or something. Seriously, what? "Masking" is simply a survival mechanism and is necessary to try to interact with people in a way they understand. Instead they should focus on the fact that the person who is masking/camouflaging obviously cares about them very much to spend untoward amounts of energy and time trying to interact with them in a way that they understand. Maybe the commenters should also be trying to expend energy to understand and meet the needs of the aspie. It's a two-way street, and it shouldn't always be us who has to try to be someone we aren't, at the expense of our sanity, health, and energy. They should meet us halfway.


Yes. That was damn peculiar. They interpreted it as part of some evil strategy to hide an autistic identity, with some long term goal in mind......yet the people who mask generally have no idea they are autistic, and they only do it to avoid being mistreated, not to achieve any sort of goal.

NT projection at its finest. It tells you a lot about those people.


I have to assume most of those comments are posted by 12 year olds with too much time on their hands, who only read articles on autism for ammunition with which to ridicule others. It doesn't make any sort of rational sense, that people they already regard as ret*ds are engaging in some sly subterfuge in order to plot against NT society. There's no internal logic to it at all.


As of this writing, nobody called anybody a ret*d in the comments. It is a lot of poor me, it is so hard to be married to an undiagnosed autistic etc. But there are comments by Autistic people also.


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19 Sep 2017, 1:08 pm

heyyoujess wrote:
magz wrote:
I wonder why girls camouflage more. Is it some hormone difference or are the expectations from girls different, even in the very early childhood?
I used to cry a lot when I was a kid. Maybe if I was a boy, peers would tell me boys don't cry, I mustn't cry. What next? Anger and agression instead of crying? Maybe. So maybe fighting instead of complying. That would make the diagnosis easier.

I'm glad the researchers started to examine the issue systematically.


I would theorize that girls camouflage more easily because we are (usually) taught to pay more careful attention to social cues, and thereby we are also taught to recognize which of our behaviors make others uncomfortable, and then, consequently, repress those behaviors.


I read a theory on this recently about role models, girls learn from women who show a lot of emotions and boys learn from men who traditionally show less. I realise that's a generalization and there are exceptions but I think it has merit.

Edit: I just realised I didn't explain properly. I learnt to read emotions from women, I did it as a child but continue as an adult, I don't think I will ever be done. Men generally show fewer emotions so are much harder to read.


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