Autistic masking as a strategy

This might be a controversial opinion, but I don't think autistic masking is inherently bad.

The way I see it, masking is…

Harmful if forced, but not harmful if chosen.

As an autistic person, I choose to mask all the time for my own benefit and to achieve my own goals.

When I do it for me, I see it as a skill.

BUT... If I ever feel like I HAVE to mask because of situations thrust upon me or to protect myself from abuse or mistreatment... that's when I see it as harmful.

And when this version of masking occurs over time, that's what leads to internalized autism. (Which you can read more about in my Internalized Autism catalog.)

And I think it's extremely important to understand the difference.

Because being able to mask for your own benefit as an autistic person is the key (imo) to achieving your personal goals in life.

And, for me, it's the ONLY reason I've reached the level of success that I have.

Disclaimer, I'm a high masking level 1 autistic person and what I'm saying should be considered in that context since masking is much more difficult, even impossible for higher support needs autistic people (levels 2 & 3)