Autistic people’s perception of social camouflaging: qualitative analysis of a Web forum

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Larochelle-Guy, J., Martinez, I. L., & Dufour, M. M. (2025). Autistic people’s perception of social camouflaging: qualitative analysis of a Web forum. Advances in Autism, 11(4), 253-265. https://doi.org/10.1108/aia-04-2025-0032

Publication date: 7 Aug 2025 Added to AutiHub: 22 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
3
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 3 (33.3%)
  1. Justine Larochelle-Guy
  2. Iris L. Martinez *
  3. Marie-Michèle Dufour

Abstract

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.

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: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
40
With a DOI
38
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
2
6 / 40 (15.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 40 (2.5%)
References with detected author names
39 / 40 (97.5%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
1
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
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
143
From DOI or external metadata
143
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
100 / 143 (69.9%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 43 / 143 (30.1%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
7 / 143 (4.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 7 / 100 (7.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 7 / 102 (6.9%).
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