Understanding masking and autism

You’ve probably heard me speaking about masking and autism.  This can be very difficult to understand and accept.  Have you ever wondered why a child with autism (or even other conditions) respond completely differently with their parents than with anyone else?  The answer is because they are making.

Now I knew from when he was little, he could mask brilliantly.  I mean, he knew even as a tiny baby, that if he heard a certain voice he had to pretend to be asleep if he did not want her touching his feet!  He was very well aware that she would disappear if he remained “asleep” while she was there.  Now I KNEW what he was doing. But I didn’t say anything because I also knew what a nightmare he was if you were trying to touch his feet.  So in the end, he only ever had the beginning of a “baby massage” because of the oils she was using her hands were slippery and he was screaming blue murder and she couldn’t hold him!

So I was well aware that he could mask what he was feeling in front of other people and his skill level at that is truly outstanding.  Honestly, he was pushed off a “ship” they had in their garden area and they phoned me up, telling me he was fine and nothing was wrong….erm.  Well, I entered the nursery and instead of seeing him alone as usual there was a little bevy of girls around him.  I knew INSTANTLY something was wrong.  He had managed to MASK a broken arm!

And if he could mask that brilliantly at such a young age, well it’s something that comes naturally to him so it’s not surprising he can hide things.  Obviously there are some things he can hide because that’s what he’s always done.  I don’t think this is the same with all autistic children.  Everybody develops in their own way and own time.  It was just that he has such intense sensory issues he developed masking coping levels above and beyond others.

So  this is one of the coping skills people on the spectrum can develop and grow  and something we can all talk about.