Masking IS NOT an Autism Sign

Wait what? Masking isn't an autism sign? How can we say that? Well take a listen and I think you'll agree that many in the autism community have gotten this wrong.
#autism #education #countdown #tips #autismdiagnosis #help #masking #passing #camoflauge #autistic
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[@rebeccaleopold2329]

I made a big mistake with my grandson. We were going into a restaurant and I asked him how we were going to behave. He’s 8 and he said, “Normal”. It broke my heart when I realized what I was asking of him. I immediately told him that I loved him no matter what and to be himself. It was a big lesson for Granny to learn.

[@user-ev9sw4ee8j]

I used Dr Oyalo herbs for my son and now my son is completely free, his speaking and behavior is ok. His herbs is 100% working on speech delay and ASD. I met Dr Oyalo on channel and I’m happy to share my experience about it

[@StephyPaige98]

Totally agree. I am a 25yr old female and was diagnosed level 3 a few months ago. That may seem pretty dramatic to someone who knows me because I have masked so well my whole life. But that masking is what completely burnt me out leading to this discovery. Now I have a shutdown or meltdown sometimes multiple times a week. If left alone I easily accidentally dehydrated and starve myself or fail to realise I’m tired and not sleep for 2 days. On the outside people say “You don’t seem/look autistic” but they don’t know how hard it is just to keep myself alive. Masking can truely be more dangerous than it looks.

[@maxspears6030]

I love how you encourage your sons to be themselves. I love autistic children. Their spirit is pure love. I personally enjoy their energy. It makes me feel comraderie because I’m kind of quirky too. 🤗

[@user-ev9sw4ee8j]

I used Dr Oyalo herbs for my son and now my son is completely free, his speaking and behavior is ok. His herbs is 100% working on speech delay and ASD. I met Dr Oyalo on channel and I’m happy to share my experience about it

[@Brookexoxoxo]

it really is… my daughter has the purest heart i’ve ever saw.

[@gamer546lg5]

So basically this family is encouraging their children to be stupid and disabled forever

[@TheChadXperience909]

I love watching Connor, because he's always so sweet the way he stims. He also masques the most, and I wish he wouldn't because he's so adorable when he does it. That boy is going to break a lot of hearts.

[@elico2720]

hi, im a 21 years old girl, from Rome, and i’ve been following you guys for five years now, i think. I was diagnosed with level 1 when i was 19, because i started asking questions to myself thanks to videos like this and i reached out for help. I watched a lot of your videos over the years, specially when i was a teenager, i feel like i grew with Ian, Connor and Allistar :). i wanted to tell you that your work here, your legacy online, is so so significant. thank you, a lot. your words are important.

[@HotMessCarnivore42]

I think we all mask on some ways! It's how we adapt and "fit in".

[@Owen2131_]

I’ve been doing the best I can to Mask at work, I have had support from project search with helping it, but now that I’m employed it’s a bit difficult, especially as I stim via face making, tapping (feet, like I’m playing ddr lol, and hands too, like I’m drumming or visualizing ddr charts) and sometimes isint as much of an issue but ive been told to kinda keep it down, and ive done my best on that. Thank you for this video rob hope you and your family are doing well❤️

[@AutismFamilyChannel]

I hope someday we can arrive at a point in society where stimming isn't frowned on or at least there's a time/place when people can go stim at work

[@Astronomad]

This channel is a goldmine, glad I have discovered it, love from Turkey.

[@mts.camilo]

That's a great take on the topic. Seeing this, I can realize this is one of the characteristics that hid my autism before I got a late diagnosis as an adult. Indeed, during my assessment, the doctors said they could notice the stimming and different behavior as soon as I entered the room, but that I also subconsciously mask it all. It was only after the whole process that I perceived that I a) stim, b) hide it. This is a vey important information. Please keep up with the great work (both in the channel and with your family). I love your videos. i wish you all a wonderful year.

[@lisapreston2715]

I have 2 grandsons on the spectrum one mild and one level 2. So your videos and information really help me and my husband understand how to handle our precious boys. My daughter and her husband are in the special needs field so they just know what to do. But for us it’s new and I just want to say thank you and your boys for letting us come into your lives and see your videos.

[@AutismTwinsUs]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year ❤wish you all the best for 2024 , fellow autism dad in England

[@marblecorner1964]

I am lucky enough to have found employment were I can be 100% myself. I feel safe there and I notice how much I actually stim if I don't try to mask. Stimming makes me happy. Wishing you a lovely year!!

[@jaybig360]

I appreciate your videos sir God bless you and your family

[@elizabethkusce2718]

When we as a family go out my son Thomas acts how he feels and we don’t care what any one says or sees my son doing. Thomas doesn’t hide anything maybe when he gets older but for now he’s happy and it’s all good. They should never be embarrassed of who they are, have you seen Walmart people lol. Now that’s strange lol.

[@joeybarry1212]

Hi. I hope that you're doing well. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful life. As someone with Autism, you actually bring up a wonderful point that I find to be true. Thank you for bringing this up. As someone who wants to advocate for people who have disabilities such as autism, this information is important to share with others. Take care.

[@AutismFamilyChannel]

Thank you!

[@joeybarry1212]

@@AutismFamilyChannel You are welcome. I truly appreciate you educating the world about autism from an important perspective. The family one. Take care.

[@Sirenathealchemist]

Your family is absolutely amazing! My boy is in the process of being diagnosed I’ve known since he was 1 and no one listened to me, I would love if you could make some videos regarding tips for parents and carers ❤

[@the-earl-of-whatever]

Masking is a survival mechanism. It's scary when you hit middle age and are so burnt out that you can't actually mask anymore, even in situations where it would make you safer to do so.

[@samuelschaad]

I have been watching your youtube channal for probably 6 months now and it is one of my favorite youtube channals I watch I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy new year. I have autism as well and one of my favorite things is vaccum cleaners and I don't mask I choose to show my autism and I love that you try and educate so many people about autism.

[@AdamariaG46]

Do you like the noise it makes?

[@samuelschaad]

@@AdamariaG46 sorry Im very late with this comment but yes I do

[@elizabethkusce2718]

God bless you and your whole family ❤

[@darkchipz3016]

Sometimes I masking because I think that someone is looking at me, I often hate masking and it's really painful

[@ninasunny4159]

Thank you so much for this video! I just heard yesterday how harmful it is for me to suppress stimming and try to be normal. Its such a high effort and bad for my mental health. Good to have videos like yours to raise awarenss! Keep going!

[@lyjuh_neko]

I love your videos! Thank you very much! Im autistic level 2 support.

[@MichaelOliver-ry7fj]

Happy New Rob, Brittney, Ian, Connor and Alistair; *#BigLoveToAll.Have a Cool Winter!

[@CWCspyninjasmaria]

I’m autistic and it’s hard to hide my autism but I fidget a lot and I have low/ hight autism

[@JustinBrysonJ34]

Happy New Years to y'all and to everybody in the autistic family community. I wish everybody the best of wishes for 2024. We are all in this together🖒

[@marjanvermeulen9753]

Hi family! Thanks for the nice video. A happy New Year for you all. I hope that everything is fine with you all. It's true that masking is a part of autism by girls/women. And it is true that girls/women diagnosed with autism late. I was diagnosed at the age of 44. A big hug from the Netherlands. 🇳🇱😃❤️🇺🇲

[@madelineg522]

I agree 100% . I am 26 and was diagnosed at 24 with what used to be called Asperger's syndrome, but now they just call it Autism Spectrum Disorder.

[@mikaso]

​Hi Marjan and @madelineg522! True for me also although I am a guy. Kept up my theatre for a while, but it burnt me out eventually. Diagnosed at 38. Greetings from Sweden!

[@catiehays3361]

Another great vlog from you guys. Happy New Year..

[@stevogrey3505]

Thank you guys the info helps

[@markitzero12]

When I was living in a roommate situation for over 15 years. I would sometimes put my old gaming laptop"alienware aurora m9700" that was 8.6 pounds on my back while laying down for the pressure since I didn't have a weighted blanket, my roommate started to criticize me about that so I stopped doing and tried to mask so much. since my living situation has changed in 2022, There was an event that happen last year and I started to feel comfy to unmask my traits and allowing myself to stim and learning stims that I like, I also was able to get a weighted blanket and fidget toys I like. I finally got a set of ear protectors but I want to get ones that have Bluetooth in them to use with my tablet PC or Kindle for the Text to Speech for the books.

[@nsoul4296]

Hi Rob, great videos and you have a great family, every child is a blessing. I viewed one of your 10 signs of autism videos where the comments were turned off. I noticed the foods the little lad was eating were kind of your standard American diet type stuff. I don't me mean to judge but i would probably try and give the lad more natural foods like grass fed beef, salmon, egg yolks, raw butter and kefir. and i would go easy on the carbs. I read that a lot of kids with autism have gut issues as i think cutting out the processed food could improve gut health. Just my observations, and i am not judging, I have a little lad myself, and best wishes to you.

[@nicetry492]

Brilliant content thanks 😊😊

[@Janndie]

Hi . I just watched Connor's video explaining his "light autism". He made me cry because i have a 9 yr old daughter who hasn't been diagnosed but she does the same things as Connor. She doesn't do any of what we call "tics or involuntary movement" - (stimming) at school but when she's at home she does a lot of those. I've started connecting symptoms these past months until a mom who has a kid with autism told me that what she does is called stimming. I hope she can be diagnosed soon. I thought im just being a bad mom looking for something wrong with my kid. That is what i felt when i told her teacher about her symptoms and she said "she's fine! I don't see any "tics". Now i know it's because she's masking everything at school but she is skin picking her ears when she at school. Thank you for you content it really helped me a lot.

[@Br0dyVR]

Yeah, I looked at that and looked at myself. My therapist thinks that I’m “ special” so I’m really in a weird spot right now. I tend to have freak out, which could be seen as meltdowns. Me and Connor are very similar, I’m open to having it. But I would prefer to not especially that I’m going to school with a lot of ignorant kids.

[@NickyJohnK219]

I hope all of you had a good Christmas and happy new year

[@ElevatorWasher5000]

Happy new year 🎉 I agree with you btw

[@TheQuietpanda]

i agree . i have autism and i have to mask in school because i get picked on if i dont so its not nice to go to school anymore because of it . masking isnt a sighn but stiming repeatively i think is idk but anyways good video and any video that puts a little bit more understanding of autism and other stuf like it is realy nice to see keep doing wat you do :)

[@Moonpower.]

It is so good to see this! "keep doing what you do, there is nothing wrong with it!" People, when it isn't hurting themselves or others, should be able to act the way they feel best. So what if someone is flapping their hands in a store or rocks back and forward at a show, let them enjoy it :D There are so many who get their kids in all kind of programs to teach them to "be normal" and I think THAT isn't a normal thing to do

[@garrickpattendenmd]

I was taught to Mask my Autism as a kid. I have Autism; however, as the decades went by, I don't have the Autism as bad as it use to be during my childhood. I did a video on it. Thank you for sharing this one Rob.

[@elvirakvasha6232]

I am an office manager. It's my 4th month of employment and I am already burnout. I have to mask constantly. As a result, migraines and meltdowns every second day. I started masking at home even though I live alone.

[@angelinatune]

Two of my daughters are on waiting lists for autism assessment were in the uk it's been an up hill battle because they heavily mask and now they're finally on it but it's a 2-3 year waiting list

[@Jaz77625]

You are my favourite KZbinrs! I also have autism.👍

[@josephs3169]

God bless you all.

[@ariajane8695]

Just recently a new stim of mine is me sort of dancing, it's kind of like I'm shaking my body a little bit, sometimes I don't realize I'm doing this particular stim. It happens out of joy.

[@YBCLover]

Hi, autism family. I just wanted to say that as an autistic person, I wish I had parents like you. Your boys are very lucky. You are such amazing parents many people don't have. I hope you know that.

[@vikkran401]

Can masking be beneficial for some or is it generally harmful for everyone? I (21M) got diagnosed very early and but around school age I started masking to hide my stimming because of social expectation and bullying. Now I've gotten so good at it that it always comes natural to the point I can't even stim in public or around others, I've tried to force it, but that doesn't feel self-stimulating at all. So for years now, I've just built up all excess stimulation through the day, only to get home where I can be alone and just stim, pretty intensively I might add just to release all of it out. Which I can't for sure say it's ''worked'' as I haven't been able to test ''not masking'' at all in public or around others and just casually stim

[@TVTIME-be8ze]

I’m pretty sure we all do Stimming, but I feel like when you’re autistic. It’s not a obvious different level. Maybe like violence stemming like walking back-and-forth violently with a lot of hand tensing movements. I think my mom always seen me tense up before I didn’t know what to call it because it was just a ME thing. But I think I know what it’s called now since I discovered your channel.

[@melanytodd2929]

Special love from South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤. Looking for any support systems here. Sadly, there's not much.

[@kathleenschoultz]

I have atypical autism. Gitthe diagnos nov 2022. I have masked my whole childhood. I am 39. But i feel like 20-25. I act like i am that too. But when i comes to talk to adults i try to hide my way to speak. I was in the habiltiering place a while ago, And now i got an appointment to a speech terapist. I guess the people i met know what to see and listen at.

[@ShayM0905]

I love your explanation on masking. I let my two autistic children stim at home and in public all the time. We should let people be themselves.

[@littlejonathorn6860]

♥️ Happy New Year!!! Stemming is essential!!! It effects everyone differently.

[@lisasommerlad1337]

Stimming. As in stimulation.

[@littlejonathorn6860]

@@lisasommerlad1337 yes.

[@hayleypatterson8479]

Sometimes I try to hide it at work with my stimming and I have this stim where I close my eyes tight and do like a smile and then I started another stimming where I tap both of my shoulders

[@nathanjw940]

Trick is to not put attention to it one way or the other still struggle with it maybe it helps me be independent. Your kids are awesome and it seems like they are well liked for who they're which I know we see the highlights but they seem to be more active and fun than most NT kids.

[@D1ZZYN]

Because my mum plaits my hair,I always touch my hair,like as you said hair twirls! I always did it when I we younger,that I remember when it was in an Afro I kept on twirling my hair so much in my sleep,it ended up getting stuck! I never did that again!!! That’s why I pull my plaits because it sounds nice that it’s next to my ear!

[@MicahRocksOfficial]

Micah calls his arm shaking "Jazz Hands"

[@shiny6123]

I stim at home but not at work and I am able to do this because I’ve had my whole life to practice (masking) which is probably why my docs refuse to give me an assessment. It’s ok though because I’m already a senior.

[@chenbonen]

I'm autistic and I love your explanation. I also agree with you that masking is not necessarily an autism sign. A lot of people, including my girlfriend who is neurodivegent but not autistic, can mask their "weird" behaviors sometimes when they're in a serious situation, like when talking to another person they've met for the first time. Masking is a sign also for shy people that hide their own favorite stuff they do secretly. I can make a lot of examples but I think you've understood greatly. Anyway, Thanks for the video

[@mileyandtaylor4life]

I done this all my life hiding my asd and I have learnt not to hid it except figet alot same with my sister except she flaps her hands when she excited with is okay

[@siennaprice1351]

I have septo-optic dysplasia, which caused me to be born, totally blind, and it also caused me to be on the autism spectrum. I also have complex PTSD. I mask my complex PTSD. Basically, I mask my emotions, I try to fit in with the people that are happy all the time and that don’t struggle. I do stim A lot. That is due to being blind and autistic. Fun fact, blind people, rock, hand, flap, touch everything, and do other similar stuff that autistic people do. They’re called blindisms. I have tried to mask my blindisms more than my autism. But that’s because people have tried to get me to not explore my surroundings, rock, use sensory items and stuff like that. But other people are telling me that there’s nothing wrong with me, rocking, touching everything, using sensory items, and even showing emotions.

[@andrewyoung3697]

You should do a up-to-date video with Alistair in the red harness and then see if it would still fit lam

[@hayley339]

I’m autistic and need support to do my day to day life, I’m working on not masking my autism so my support worker encourages me to stim like flapping my arms and she does it as well so I don’t feel like I’m the only one doing it. If I want to go down a slide but I’m too anxious she will go down first then stand and turn around to show me that she’s ok then she holds my hand and I go down the slide doing my little excitement dance, she is amazing and has a cute nickname for when I’m doing the flapping stim, she calls me happy flappy girl or happy flappy sunflower and I like it. When she explains to people what I’m doing if I play in a park or something and I stim she tells them that I feel like a fairy when I flap my arms, some people are horrible and others say “it’s good to see her being herself and not worrying what others think about her” some people will do it to mock me and then run up to me flapping their arms calling me a weirdo I get overwhelmed and stress which leads to crying so my support worker holds my hand and walks me away from the person then she sits down with me and just hugs me while I’m crying saying “shhhh it’s ok” or “it’s alright I’m here with you” she’s the absolute best

[@GlitterLucky3]

I know this isn't really irrelevant to the topic, but when I was a lot younger, I used to love, chewing erasers in School a lot of my friends knew that I did it and they didn't really judge me for it which is quite great!! And I wouldn't really count me chewing erasers stimming, but I did do it though!! And my mom, obviously knew that when I was younger, I used to try mask, she knew very well and she noticed when I tried!!

[@353bandit4]

Great explanation. There is nothing wrong with Stimming, anywhere. Society holds to much on image, vs what would be helpful for everyone to be happier and successful.

[@user-eg8ht4im6x]

You are 100% right, masking is not a Autistic trait. Its a coping things - a way of fitting in. if we didn’t have to live in a NT world we wouldn’t have to try and fit in we could be ourselves, we wouldn’t have to camouflage our difference, we wouldn’t have to force our self’s not to stim etc. Your right masking isn’t an Autism sign it’s only a part of Autism because we are having to hide our true self’s which most NTs don’t accept or cope with. Thank you for making this point it’s a very important one

[@katharyndavidson1188]

Now that i see there personality as they mature do you think connor has the best chance of being an independent adult or whick other one of your sons has the best chance

[@Lexi10158]

yeah i agree my friend with down syndrome stims he rubs his hands together really fast which is one of his stims and he also makes a face and i told my friend the day after when we were hanging out that hes just stimming theres nothing wrong with it. i don't care if anyone sees him in public stimming. i told his mom that i could care less if he stimmed in public. having high functioning autism even though its like a.d.d i've noticed i stim sometimes and i do try to hide it because i guess i'm worried people will think i'm weird or something which i need to work on not being worried about.

[@Faye578]

My children is Autism too

[@user-lb2qe6jr5p]

It really hurts when I hear them 😢

[@gamergate2.0andbooks]

Iv been finding out that i have autism but my doctor and my mom refuses to acknowledge it and refuses to even listen to me but yes i deal with every symptoms of autism ive also been dealing with panic attacks which for me doing a panic attack ive behave just like someone going through autism meltdown also my parents and my doctor think pddnos isn't autism but everywhere i go see that i have autism i also have adhd and Anxiety and depression

[@blackqweenmars]

I barely mask my autism in public or private but it comes with drawbacks. I’m a girl with autism but I’ve always been weird. Whether I look like I have autism or not depends on when you see me. When I’m calm I’m generally quiet and put back but when I’m excited you can obviously tell that I’m autistic. Stimming is fine, but really disruptive or aggressive stimming can be a problem. For example, my flapping has lead to me injuring myself and others. Some more dangerous forms of stimming might need to be replaced with something less destructive.

[@Ar.3003]

Hola soy de Argentina, sería genial si pudiesen traducir con subtítulos !! Logramos entender algo de lo que dicen y nos encantaría poder leerlos y entenderlos por completo, somos papas de 2 niños autistas. Ellos son lo más bueno y hermoso que hay, nosotros con mí marido dejamos que sean ellos donde sea, delante de quién sea sin importarnos jamás el resto, el que dirán, el cómo los mirarán! Ellos no molestan a nadie siendo quienes son.

[@therocknrollgamer9572]

I mask a lot. I was come across as weird by classmates in Primary School, because of how I was able to handle my emotions, anxiety, etc. I am in Secondary School now as a 15 year old guy (gonna be 16 in 2 months time), and I don't even tell others I am autistic.

[@derekaldrich4887]

Happy 2024 to Connor and Ian

[@christinal.meixsell9384]

What about Alistair

[@Cartierscott]

That's what I'm saying 😂

[@nathanjw940]

My feeling about autistic vs. autism. Autistic being a noun the person. Autism a disability it's part of who we are it's not who we are. Like a person has brown eyes.

[@krugerfuchs]

I agree with you

[@lechini4827]

I dont even like the term masking. It has a negative feel to it. We are trying to meet the expectations of the society. It is undesirable to calm oneself down publicaly and more than we care to admit, privately. Its ingrained in our psyche to stop ourselves from soothing anxiety.

[@seemesolve]

I agree! How about turning it around? Instead of the autistic person masking, it’s other people hazing us.

[@lechini4827]

@seemesolve I don't know how to turn it around. I have no coping mechanizm left from a lifetime of suppressing it. Looking for help on the internet. Doctors don't know squad

[@seemesolve]

Sorry about that. I wasn’t instructing you to turn your whole life around. When I said ‘turn it around’ I meant literally turning around the sentence. That’s all. To do this, we could substitute in the verb hazing. So, instead of autistic people mask (subject, verb) we can say neurotypicals haze us (subject, verb, object). I hope that makes what I meant a bit clearer. :) It pains me to hear you say you have had a lifetime of suppression. At least you have one coping mechanism: the internet. It’s full of knowledge, it has a community of other people who share the same situation and hopefully you will discover some new tools to help you on your search. I wish you well!

[@gamergate2.0andbooks]

Ive never knew that i have autism until i did research about it and i learn that pddnos is apart of autism but my parents and my doctor refuse to acknowledge and refuse to listen im 27 or 28 and for almost my whole entire life i never new i had autism because i was masking it so well

[@courtneyturner4029]

💯

[@CH1CK3N-K1LL3R]

I masked since I was very young, now I don't mask a lot but when I'm at school I mask because I don't want to get bullied. And I agree with you.

[@Brookexoxoxo]

I agree.

[@Enbymf]

I’m an adhder and I didn’t use to rock back and forth or do the hand flapping UNTIL i learned about autism (my only stim was moving my legs) and I recently got diagnosed and now i do them and i feel like maybe i was faking it or maybe i made it a habit? Maybe i was lying to myself and my doctor? Is it normal to have these thoughts? i was so sure i’m autistic until i got diagnosed. I feel like a fraud

[@Enbymf]

@@ER-km3id ?

[@Enbymf]

@@ER-km3id shut it.

[@Enbymf]

@@ER-km3id it’s because your parents never loved you isn’t :(

[@D1ZZYN]

Happy new year🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 how was your new years??

[@AutismFamilyChannel]

Great, thank you!

[@D1ZZYN]

@@AutismFamilyChannel your welcome 🙏🏾

[@LifeWithShawn2024]

Is it possible for someone to have level 1 mild autism and act nuerotypical ?

[@seemesolve]

Yes, level 1 autistics can act neurotypical. Level 1 autistics can hide, camouflage or mask their neurodivergence. Some level 1 autistics will be more adept at masking than others. But masking comes with serious consequences. First, by masking, the autistic person might not receive the support they need. Second, in the short term, masking all day at school or at work for example can lead to explosive meltdowns at home, that’s if home and family are safe. Third, in the long term, the combination of no support and the constant cycle of suppression and release from masking can be exhausting. This exhaustion leads to longer term cycles of autistic burnout. Fourth, masking over the very long term can lead to frequent burnouts, patchy employment history, debt cycles, poverty, lack of stable housing, loss of friends and relationships, social isolation,, etc. For many this can culminate in depression or poor mental health. For some, this can lead to substance or alcohol abuse, a high rate of self h4rm, su1c1de. So yes, masking allows a level 1 autistic person temporarily to ‘pass a neurotypical’. But masking, which is really neurotypicals’ intolerance towards stimming, can cause HUGE problems! The moral is for neurotypicals to become more accepting of differences and to become more tolerant of public stimming, for the sake of autistic people’s health and well being.

[@yuuokami2156]

This is so true. You can mask literally anything and everything. It's not just for ND people or disabled people either. Everyone can and does mask to some degree. For most people they won't even realize it. Your work self and is not the same as your home self. That is masking. You home self is different from the self your friends see. If you have trouble staying still. You likely suppress that when in public or in a professional setting. Biting nails is a commons stim and people can often relate to it. Despite this, most people rarely do in public and will stop doing it if they do. That's masking. Oh, just to be clear. I am not promoting self harm behaviors. I was just using it as an easy to understand example.

[@jessicabundangkat3152]

I get it society really always try’s to not let kids just be who they are I know some who tell some people don’t stem

[@NathanaelLarson]

For me personally, stopping a stim because someone noticed never really felt like masking. This is because I always felt like my stims were subconscious, not conscious. When someone notices the stim, it puts it into the conscious mind, defeating the purpose of the stim. Masking isn’t my intention behind stopping a stim when someone notices it. My intention behind this is to avoid a conscious stim, which just doesn’t feel the same to me. Perhaps I’m masking more than I realize, but I just don’t know how to fall back into a subconscious stim after someone notices it without taking a break from the stim. I do feel like me preventing a stim in the first place would be masking but not stopping a stim when someone notices it.

[@KnotZMilky]

It sucks that Autistic people have to hide their stims because they’re not even hurting anyone doing it and it’s sad how judgmental this world is that they have to do that. Sadly I have to mask as well when I’m talking to new people or people I don’t trust because then I’d either get made fun of or judged on. I just wish that people would be more accepting of it.

[@themaniac5864]

I ONLY try to stop stimming when he is almost at redline and can hurt himself or others. But softly. Usually as he is very good listner i try to complement something or play with him. But most of the time if we are close to him we just let it go. The more people know the better

[@insertwhistlememe]

1:19 this is beautiful

[@user-lb2qe6jr5p]

I’m autistic, and I mostly stim at home. I’m not sure what I’m doing is masking though.

[@pinedelgado4743]

Hey! This is what I do. I'm an autistic 56-year-old male and I almost never stim in public. So I think that I'm pretty good at masking.

[@ponysparkletoys2466]

I tend to hide my autism when I am in public. I don’t like to stim when I am outside of the house in case people look at me (which has happened before.) Hope you all have a very Happy New Year for 2024. Thank you for making such wonderful videos about autism.😄🩷

[@user-dc6sl1jw4z]

I twirl my hair constitntely and everyone is always telling me not to.

[@richardphieler7737]

I have a burnout from masking😢🎭💔

[@user-hx7yj4bs1u]

I love you ❤️

[@Autisticmuppet]

I mask because im in group home and i have roomate who expects ,me to speak all the time and do things for her im a adult who is autistic im proud to be autistic

[@harmony6643]

Masking is a result of or reaction to being autistic but not a "symptom". Yes, us autistic people mask a lot but that's not an innate, natural thing, it's a learned behaviour. Also, as with pretty much every sort of autistic behaviour, everyone does it to a degree and it's only human and just more extremely present in autism than in neurotypical people.

[@alexandershilling]

Back in the day we had to wear a mask because of Covid. We don’t have to so much anymore.

[@user-lb2qe6jr5p]

I’m upset that we’re in a world we’re we are worried to be are selves

[@DeborahAnnsuperversatile]

My daughter and I mask a lot. Wish we could be ourselves but we absolutely know people start judging us more as soon as the mask slips, especially with stimming.

[@tobyisaracoon]

Everyone masks even they are neurotypical. We get self conscious or mask on the autism spectrum because of anxiety and wanting to not be seen as different. A neurotypical might do the same thing by hiding personal quirks or interests. So yes masking is not just done by autistics.

[@plAn_Bee-Zee]

Wishing you a blessed 2024