Purpose Camouflaging their autistic characteristics is a common coping strategy among autistic people, often leading to diagnostic delays and negative impacts on mental health. Although existing literature has examined autistic people’s views on camouflaging, it rarely explores these perspectives through natural conversations outside of research settings. The purpose of this study to address this gap and analyze autistic people’s perception of camouflaging based on online discussions between autistic people. Design/methodology/approach This study examined 194 posts from 68 users on a UK-based autism forum, using inductive thematic analysis to identify key aspects of camouflaging. Findings The analysis revealed a predominantly negative view of camouflaging, with most users using it primarily for social integration, especially in work settings. The most reported consequence was exhaustion. Not camouflaging leads not only to improved mental health but also potentially to rejection. Originality/value The findings of this study strengthen existing knowledge about camouflaging by adding new analysis conducted directly on conversations happening organically. Future research should collect more data from natural conversations to validate these results and consider diverse sources of autistic individuals’ perspectives.
Larochelle-Guy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.