Concept
Masking and camouflaging
Masking or camouflaging is when someone changes or hides parts of how they naturally communicate or behave to meet social expectations.
Break the term down
Masking and camouflaging masking – camouflaging
- masking
- hiding or changing visible parts of yourself
- camouflaging
- blending in or making differences less visible
Whole meaning: Masking or camouflaging is when someone changes or hides parts of how they naturally communicate or behave to meet social expectations.
More precise description
Masking or camouflaging describes strategies and behaviours some autistic people use to reduce the visibility of autistic differences or navigate social expectations; measurement varies and the experience is not universal.
At a glance
This page covers
- Conscious and less-conscious strategies used to manage how autistic differences are perceived.
- Self-reported effort, behavioural presentation and the mismatch between internal experience and outward appearance.
- Possible costs, benefits and context dependence.
It does not mean
- Assuming every autistic person masks.
- Treating masking as evidence that someone is or is not autistic.
- Treating masking as exclusive to women or girls.
What we can say
These are bounded statements from the current evidence record. See what the confidence labels mean. Open a statement only if you want its evidence route.
What remains uncertain
How should camouflaging be measured without confusing outward presentation, self-reported effort and social adaptation?
Different measures may capture different phenomena and can produce different conclusions about who masks and at what cost.
What could reduce this uncertainty?
- Longitudinal and multimethod research with diverse autistic participants.
- Measures co-designed with autistic people and validated across gender, age and communication style.
Status: open
Different perspectives
Systematic-review framing
Camouflaging is better treated as a variable set of strategies and experiences than as a single trait or a gender-specific diagnostic shortcut.
Related topics
- Autism — Camouflaging research has largely focused on autistic people and autistic traits.
- Autistic burnout — Sustained effort to meet environmental and social demands is discussed in burnout accounts, but masking is not by itself a demonstrated cause of every burnout episode.
- Communication differences — Masking can involve adapting communication style to social expectations.
Useful next routes
Practical questions
- How do I start looking into an adult autism assessment in England?
- How do I start looking into an adult autism assessment in Northern Ireland?
- How do I start looking into an adult autism assessment in Scotland?
- How do I start looking into an adult autism assessment in Wales?
- I keep masking and feel exhausted. Where can I understand autistic burnout without assuming that is definitely what I have?
Related resources
Sources
Cook J, Hull L, Crane L, Mandy W. Camouflaging in autism: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review. 2021;89:102080.
Page provenance and review state
Evidence-bounded content expansion for v0.9. Primary research or authoritative source checked on 2026-08-28; claims are deliberately narrower than the source and uncertainty remains explicit.