‘I realised I had been camouflaging my whole life – I’d been trying to mask my autistic traits and fit in with all the non-autistic people around me.’
Growing up autistic can often feel as though you have to become a chameleon in social situations, camouflaging yourself to fit in with a seemingly neurotypical world. Combining lived experience with scientific research and practical advice, this book is the essential guide to understanding why you mask and how to feel confident without one.
Focusing on diagnostic devices like the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) to discover the situations in which you mask the most and why, alongside a range of techniques, from CBT, compassion based therapy, DBT, and mindfulness to relieve anxiety and reduce stress, this guide gives you all the tools and confidence you need to re-connect with yourself, the things you love and finally, take off your mask.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Autistic authenticity is essential for self-acceptance and self-worth. Indeed, it is the key to living a life less riddled with mental health challenges that can completely cripple. In Taking off the Mask autistics will find a thoughtful and practical map they can use on their journey to living life fully and comfortably as their true self. And equally as important, non autistic audiences will be persuasively encouraged to change the way the world accepts and truly supports neurodiversity. — Liane Holliday Willey, EdD author of Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome and Safety Skills for Asperger Women: How to Save a Perfectly Good Female Life
Is ‘masking’ something you would like to do less of? Written by Hannah Belcher, autistic woman and respected academic,
“Taking Off the Mask” is a practical, honest and compassionate guide that will help you discover who you are, what you like and not be afraid to show it. — Dr Sarah Bargiela, Author of “Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women”
Book Description
Practical exercises to understand why and how autistic people mask their autistic traits
About the Author
Hannah Belcher is an autistic advocate and researcher, who has completed a PhD in camouflaging, mental health and late diagnosis in autistic females. She is a Lecturer in User Led Research at King’s College London.
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