Tag Archives: autistic masking

Lived Experience and the Question of Usefulness

Part 3 of a seven-part series exploring what it feels like to live inside a system that values certain minds for their usefulness. Recognition of neurodivergent strengths in modern industries has created new opportunities, but lived experience reveals a more complex reality. This article reflects on the gap between technical usefulness and social understanding, exploring masking, misinterpretation, and the persistent challenge of belonging in environments built around neurotypical expectations.

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The Hidden Costs of Masking: What Research and Autistic Voices Reveal

This article explores the hidden psychological, physical, and social costs of autistic masking, drawing on current research and lived experience. Combining academic insight with personal anecdotes, it examines how masking impacts wellbeing, identity, and burnout, and argues that masking is not an individual adaptation but a response to structural neurotypical norms and inequality embedded in modern social and professional life.

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