'Capital A'
I chose the name of the Facebook and Web pages because, since my diagnosis, I have grown in my understanding of what being Autistic means to me and, wit the #ActuallyAutistic community in a similar way as 'capital D' Deaf, in relation to Deaf Community's Pride, I'm owning my neurodivergence, I'm 'capital A' Autistic; I claim it and vow to continue to learn more about how to use my strengths to bolster my weaknesses so they become less evident in my day to day life, instead of covering them up or hiding them for fear of being 'accused' of being 'different.' I will stand up for others in the Autistic community (and beyond), at every possible opportunity; young and the young at heart, to prevent prejudice and ableism and to aid communication, interaction and understanding.
"Why 'Unmasked?' What does that relate to?"
It's got a double meaning, really...
In the literal sense, the Collins English Dictionary has this entry:
"VERB:
If you unmask someone or something bad, you show or make known their true nature or character, when they had previously been thought to be good."
Unpacking the application of 'Mask' in relation to Autistics:
Girls are less likely to be diagnosed than their male counterparts. There are a few theories about this but when listening to parents of girls, the same issues are present for most cases: "too social," "able to make eye-contact" and the most frequent issue which prevents assessment or diagnosis is they are often described as "Impeccably well-behaved at school." At the very least, the school would often report them being "Absolutely fine at school."
For the most part, an Autistic child who is not causing any problems at school but is having meltdowns when they get home is probably not "fine at school at all," at least not internally; externally, they are 'masking!'
These girls are flying under the radar; they are being missed and therefore are likely to not receive a diagnosis until they are much older. For example, I initially asked my daughter's Health Visitor for referral for some kind of assessment when she was 9 months old, however, a decade of pushing various services, and her school, ensued and she was 10yrs, 9mnths old when she received her Autism diagnosis. It should not have taken a decade... if she had been male, we would have been referred without issue, in all probability, when I first asked for some kind of assessment at 9 months old.
Masking?!
Masking is a term applied in this scenario to mean the Autistic person's, initially spontaneous, camouflaging of 'themselves' as their brain becomes aware of their differences to their Allistic peers (this can begin at a young age - pre-school age, even); they may not be able to quantify those differences when its first brought to their attention but eventually, this is where helping to apply those Autistic strengths can have the most impact and would limit the effect long-term masking can have on a person - one of the first things which happened to me when I left education and started a job was what I now know was around two years of suffering from Autistic burnout as I recovered from the impact of my brain not allowing myself to be 'me' in school had had on me. Masking is a desirable tool for an Autistic when you are in control of it but when it is 'owning you' it can be damaging in a cumulative way. This is how I made it through education but crashed six months into the start of my career.
By 'unmasking' I'm taking another step to 'own,' 'claim,' and be proud of the differences I and other Autistics bring to a work place or school. My desire is to help people in my community understand more about and be proud of and own both their Autism diagnosis/self diagnosis and their mask and not be controlled by it. I also want to help non-Autistic people (Allistics) understand a perspective of Autism, from the inside but, I reiterate, this is just one person's perspective!
Thank you for joining this journey, whatever your link to, or experience of, Autism.
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