Working While Masking: An Autistic Professional in the Neurotypical Office

• By: S. Astrid Cooper Writer and Illustrator
• March 25th, 2026
• autistic professionals, camouflaging, neurodiversity, neurotypical culture, sensory challenges, workplace inclusion, workplace masking
• 333    0

Opening Act: The Choreography of Office Life Today’s office culture is a choreography of managed impressions. It rewards employees who can handle small talk with practiced ease, tolerate fluorescent lighting without flinching, and treat every ritual — from over‑the‑top celebrations to...

Challenges in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Older Autistic Women

• By: Mary P. Donahue, PhD Mindful Paths Psychological Services, LLC
• April 11th, 2023
• adult diagnosis, camouflaging, communication, diagnosis, gender bias, girls and women, masking, older adults, research, Spring 2023 Issue, supporting sensory needs, treatment
• 10986    2

Autism has a unique neurological structure with a wide variety of expressions. This diversity of strengths, challenges, and experiences is why autism is considered a spectrum disorder. It’s also what makes it challenging to diagnose and treat because the myriad of symptoms manifested in any given...

Late-Diagnosed Autism and Camouflaging in People Assigned Female at Birth

• By: Britt Albanese, MA, CPC-I, LPCC (they/them) Naropa University Student Pursuing an MA in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling
• April 9th, 2023
• adult diagnosis, camouflaging, diagnosis, diagnostic barriers, gender, inclusive diagnostic criteria, living authentically, masking, societal expectations, Spring 2023 Issue
• 7678    1

It is becoming increasingly understood that there are marked differences in autism between genders. This has led to people assigned female at birth (AFAB) to being diagnosed in adolescence or adulthood at a higher rate compared to people assigned male at birth (AMAB) (Wood-Downie et al., 2020). I...