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Behaviors

Masking: What is it, and what does it mean for autistic people?

Masking is the practice of concealing autistic traits and performing neurotypical behaviors. Autistic people mask for many reasons, often to avoid mistreatment and potentially traumatic experiences. Autistic individuals mask to different extents, and though masking is common among autistic people, not all of us mask. Masking can be intentional or done unconsciously. Many autistic individuals experience a mixture of both. Masking is a complex, highly variable behavior that looks and feels different across individuals.

Masking, for many autistic people, is a necessary mechanism used to survive and seek advancement in a world built around neurotypical expectations. However, it can also have severe impacts on our wellbeing. Tightly managing our behaviors to cater to other people’s comfort can wear on our mental health.

Masking is a multifaceted part of many autistic individuals’ lives, and each autistic person may feel differently about masking’s role and meaning in their life. Understanding the reasons we mask and the impact of masking can allow us to connect more deeply with ourselves and better identify our needs. Gaining this understanding can also empower neurotypical individuals to better support autistic people in their lives.

Helena Keown
Nov 11, 2024
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Therapy

Understanding Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy: A Guide

Neurodiversity is a growing movement that celebrates neurodivergent perspectives and the many different ways people think and engage with the world. As the cultural conversation around neurodiversity has expanded, some institutions have begun evaluating ways to better include and uplift neurodivergent people. These changes are desperately needed, especially in mental health services. Neurodiversity-affirming therapy offers neurodivergent people mental health support that recognizes our value and embraces our inherent strengths.

Helena Keown
Nov 8, 2024
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Related Conditions

Autism and Co-Occurring Conditions: A Guide

Autism is known to co-occur with several health conditions—but what does this mean? What other diagnoses are most prevalent among autistic individuals, and does an autism diagnosis inform treatment of co-occurring conditions?

Helena Keown
Nov 6, 2024
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Therapy

Is Prosper Health Legit?

“Is Prosper Health legit?” The short answer: yes, Prosper Health is a legitimate company dedicated to filling the gap in autism-affirming mental health care for adults. I spent a great deal of time researching this question myself last year, and I hope my experience can help you make your own conclusion and connect to the resources you are looking for.  

When I first found Prosper Health, I was 27 and hadn’t yet been diagnosed with autism. I had looked for mental health resources for autistic adults before, but always came up with little to show for it. With limited reviews and testimonials from other sources about Prosper Health, at the time in only its first year of operation, I was hesitant.

Trustworthiness is a critical part of healthcare, especially for medically disenfranchised communities. Seeking care myself, I was worried about wasting time with poor quality, ill-informed care, and even worse, of being scammed.

Helena Keown
Nov 5, 2024
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Understanding Autism
Autistic woman suffering from sensory overlad
Behaviors

Sensory Overload in Autistic Adults

Sensory processing differences–sometimes referred to as sensory processing disorder–can significantly impact emotion regulation, daily functioning and overall well-being. Sensory overload occurs when the nervous system is overwhelmed with more sensory input than it can process, a common experience for autistic adults. Research psychologist, Dr. MacLennan, and her colleagues report that approximately 9 out of every 10  autistic adults in their research experience sensory processing differences. Considering the wide-ranging and profound effects of sensory processing differences, it is crucial to understand the nature of sensory overload, its impact on the nervous system, and strategies for managing sensory differences.

Sensory overload can present as a physical, cognitive or emotional response because these experiences overlap. For example, sensory overload may look like irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating or fatigue. When it becomes too intense, the body may have a fight or flight response, leading to a meltdown or shutdown while your body is trying to protect you from danger. Developing sensory self-care strategies is vital to your well-being and mental health because sensory overload can contribute to anxiety, stress, fatigue and further impact any existing mental health difficulties.

The senses and their role in sensory processing

While most are familiar with the five senses, visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and tactile (touch), many are unfamiliar with other senses that play a crucial role in sensory processing. These include the lesser-known vestibular (balance), proprioceptive (position), and interoceptive (internal) senses. These three are particularly significant to autistic people. The vestibular system is in the inner ear, and it helps with balance by sensing the orientation of your head in space. It can be activated through sensory input such as rocking or spinning. Proprioception is our innate sense of our body’s position in space. It’s activated by anything that creates pressure on the joints, such as carrying heavy objects, pushing or pulling. Interoception refers to our internal body sensations such as hunger, thirst or needing to use the bathroom. Individuals with hyposensitivity to interoception may struggle to access these internal cues. These lesser-known senses are incredibly important in sensory processing and nervous system regulation.

Rae Waters Hartman Haight
Nov 20, 2024
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African American adult completing an assessment with psychologist
Diagnosis

How to Get Tested for Autism as an Adult: A Comprehensive Guide

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by sensory sensitivities, social communication challenges, repetitive actions and special interests. Despite displaying autism traits, many adults reach later stages of life without an official diagnosis. This is partially due to masking, a coping strategy in which individuals consciously or unconsciously suppress their autistic traits to fit in with others. With growing awareness, more adults are recognizing that their lifelong challenges with social interaction, communication and sensory processing could be related to undiagnosed autism.

Getting an autism diagnosis as an adult can be life-changing. It provides clarity and validation of differences that may have caused confusion, frustration or isolation throughout life. An adult autism diagnosis can also help individuals access support services, workplace accommodations and tools for improved quality of life.

Grayson Schultz
Nov 19, 2024
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Illustration of neurodiversity as human mind variation
Related Conditions

Autism vs. ADHD: Understanding Where They Overlap and Diverge

Autism and ADHD are considered neurodevelopmental disorders, meaning they both affect the development of the nervous system and brain. ADHD and autism are distinct diagnoses that share some features, but each has distinct traits. Both autistic individuals and ADHDers are considered neurodivergent. This is a non-medical umbrella term for people with neurodevelopmental disabilities. It’s used to describe individuals whose brains work differently than what is expected for their age group.

ADHD and autism can look similar. While the two conditions do share many traits and commonly co-occur, they are differentiated by a number of distinct features. Understanding these differences can equip neurodivergent people with more language to describe their experiences, helping them access resources, diagnoses and tailored support. This knowledge can also empower educators, employers, healthcare providers and other community members to introduce more supportive and inclusive practices for neurodivergent individuals.

Helena Keown
Nov 18, 2024
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Autistic woman stimming by playing with her hair
Behaviors

Autistic Stimming: A Look Past the Stereotypes

Stimming, shorthand for self-stimulatory behavior, is a set of self-regulating behaviors commonly associated with autism spectrum disorder. Stimming can involve a wide variety of behaviors that stimulate one’s own senses, such as moving the body, playing with objects, or making vocalizations. Stimming, like many autistic behaviors, has been stigmatized, and often regarded as a symptom to be reduced by treatment. However, stimming is a normal, often harmless reality of autistic life, one that helps us regulate our senses and engage with the world more authentically.

Helena Keown
Nov 14, 2024
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Autistic adult woman having a meltdown
Behaviors

Meltdowns in Autistic Adults: Why They Happen, What They’re Like, and How to Live with Them

“Meltdown” is not a term often associated with adult life, but for many autistic adults, meltdowns are a reality. For us, meltdowns are not what you might picture at first: an inconsolable child, acting out over not getting what they want; they’re more like the release valve on a neurobiological pressure cooker.

Helena Keown
Nov 12, 2024
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Three women in a park chatting
Understanding Autism

Neurotypical vs. Neurodivergent Experiences: Understanding Neurodiversity

Neurodivergence is a term coming into increasingly popular use—but what does it mean? With a growing number of people identifying as neurodivergent, it’s important to understand what neurodivergence is, how neurodiversity adds value to our institutions and communities, and the challenges a neurodivergent person often experiences in a neurotypical world.

Helena Keown
Nov 11, 2024
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