Toward Sensory Accounts of Autistic Masking: A Perspective

Autistic masking has typically been understood as the suppression of natural Autistic traits within neuronormative social contexts. However, social interactions are inherently embedded within broader sensory environments, highlighting the need to consider how sensory experiences shape masking processes. Although sensory experiences have been recognized within existing masking research, the sensory dimensions of masking remain comparatively underexplored. In this perspective, we examine sensory masking as an interrelated dimension of broader Autistic masking processes, defined as the conscious