Reclaiming selfhood: towards a conceptualisation of the autistic unmasking process

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. five authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Hedlund, Å., Unéus, D., Wik, J., Ingard, C., Isakson, K., Black, M. H., Hirvikoski, T., & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H. (2026). Reclaiming selfhood: towards a conceptualisation of the autistic unmasking process. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1929738

Publication date: 27 Aug 2026 Added to AutiHub: 30 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
5 / 8 (62.5%)
  1. Åsa Hedlund *
  2. Danielle Unéus *
  3. Jonas Wik
  4. Cecilia Ingard *
  1. Kajsa Isakson *
  2. Melissa H. Black
  3. Tatja Hirvikoski
  4. Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist *

Abstract

Introduction Many autistic people adapt to a neurotypical world through masking, which can lead to exhaustion and harm to mental and physical health. As a result, there is increasingly interest in ‘unmasking’ in ways that improve quality of life and reduce stress. This study analyses qualitative data to explore unmasking among autistic adults. Methods This was a neurodivergent-led study. Twenty-nine autistic adults (17 with co-occurring ADHD) were interviewed one to four times as part of a larger project on autistic flourishing. Data related to unmasking were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Unmasking occurred through a circular process consisting of four categories (1): Identify the need to unmask (2), Gain a deeper understanding of one’s masking (3), Using unmasking strategies, and (4) Managing the consequences of unmasking. Conclusion Unmasking can be both challenging and freeing for autistic adults and may be best approached gradually. Supportive environments and professionals who understand masking and its long-term impact and do not encourage masking are important.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 17:55.

Cited references
59
With a DOI
52
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
7
23 / 59 (39.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 59 (1.7%)
References with detected author names
58 / 59 (98.3%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
241
From DOI or external metadata
241
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
145 / 241 (60.2%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 96 / 241 (39.8%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
59 / 241 (24.5%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 59 / 145 (40.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 40 / 214 (18.7%).
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