An Evaluation of CAMOUFLAGING in Autistic Adult Populations

By: Janae Hersey

This week's article discussed Camouflaging in autistic adult populations. This qualitative study included the experiences of both clinically and self-diagnosed individuals, providing insight into their thoughts, feelings and motivations behind camouflaging. This study helps shed light on this widely unknown behavior. 

Camouflaging is described as the act of appearing more social or mirroring the social behaviors of other people to blend in in social settings. While anyone can camouflage, this is an article specifically focused on autistic individuals.  
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 The dangers reported in this article discussed how engaging in camouflage on a daily basis was exhausting and stressful, leaving individuals feeling cognitively overloaded. They described that they felt as though their brains were always working. Others reported that they felt like they couldn’t meet their basic needs because camouflaging was so draining. Some reported feeling better after resting but noted that there isn’t always much time to do so. These reports explain why many individuals related camouflaging to poor mental health outcomes. Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and negative alcohol behaviors were reported in response to avoiding their awareness of social self. 

The third danger reported was that others often failed to accept the individuals when they were no longer camouflaging. Because of this, individuals reported feeling like they had to keep camouflaging to avoid being bullied, abused, or socially excluded. Not wishing to forfeit social acceptance, individuals continued even despite feeling inauthentic. As a result, many reported that the fear of losing social acceptance led them to isolate themselves completely. 

The last danger that was discussed was that camouflaging creates unreal perceptions of people with Autism. What the participants meant by this was that other people often do not believe that they are autistic, that they do not get enough recognition of their difficulties, or that people often get offended by them or think they are being fake when they are not camouflaging. Some even stated that camouflaging caused a delay in getting a formal diagnosis. They believe this would have been helpful when they were younger, potentially decreasing being hurt, by themselves or by others.   

The benefits the participants reported were that camouflaging helped them survive in society. They reported how there weren't many resources for them so camouflaging kept them out of bad places, alleviated bullying, or lessened the threat of being attacked. Some said it allowed them to better access the outside world, get jobs, meet people, make friends, and help with their partners and children. Others reported that they feel like it made them build resilience. They believe they built this resilience as a result of overcoming obstacles in society. 

When it came to the participants who do not camouflage, there were many different reasons for why they do not. Some reported stopping after they got their clinical diagnosis to preserve their mental health and also to educate others about Autism. Some believed that they were not that good at it and decided it was not worth it while others thought it only benefited the people around them, not themselves. Others reported only doing it around people who they do not know or do not understand, love, or feel supported by. It was also discussed that stopping the action of camouflaging was difficult, but some stated that it was rewarding as they reported feeling more positive, accepted, and confident. 

In our lab discussion, we brought up that not having to camouflage would be helpful for many people. We mentioned how camouflaging is different from code switching, which is usually only for a short period of time, at a specific event, and does not have the same risks as camouflaging. In general, it was our opinion that there were more negatives than positives to camouflaging. People generally have a lack of understanding about autism. A lack of awareness can cause camouflaging to happen for a long time, leading to the potential risks listed above. As a lab, we will continue working to reduce the need for camouflaging by fostering greater understanding and inclusivity for our participants with autism.
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 Reference: Bradley, L., Shaw, R., Baron-Cohen, S., Cassidy, S. (2021, December 7). Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Camouflaging and Its Perceived Impact on Mental Health. Autism in Adulthood. Retrieved from https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/aut.2020.0071