Masking as relational labour: A systemic analysis of subjectivity and hidden distress in educational contexts

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

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref BibTeX
Learn more about the sources used

Wheeler, M. (2026). Masking as relational labour: A systemic analysis of subjectivity and hidden distress in educational contexts. Human Systems: Therapy, Culture and Attachments, Article 26344041261490041. https://doi.org/10.1177/26344041261490041

Publication date: 16 Sep 2026 Added to AutiHub: 26 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Marc Wheeler *

Abstract

Masking is often conceptualised as an individual coping strategy, particularly within neurodevelopmental literature. This study reconceptualises masking as a relationally situated and systemically produced form of labour within educational contexts. While commonly examined in relation to autism, masking is understood here as a more general feature of participation within institutional environments, reflecting the regulation of behaviour and self-presentation in response to normative expectations. Drawing on practitioner-generated consultation data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, the study examines how children’s apparent “coping” is co-constructed through interactions between child, adult, and institutional context. Across cases, masking emerged as sustained regulatory effort directed toward maintaining participation, preserving relational equilibrium, and negotiating the presentation of self, often at significant internal cost. This labour remained largely unrecognised within school contexts, contributing to the misinterpretation of distress, delayed support, and trajectories of exhaustion, burnout, and withdrawal. The findings extend existing understandings of masking by situating it within systemic processes of recognition, expectation, and response, and highlight the relational conditions under which participation becomes both possible and unsustainable. Implications are considered for how educational systems constitute behaviour, recognise need, and conceptualise inclusion.

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: 27 Oct 2026 09:28.

Cited references
20
With a DOI
16
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
1 / 20 (5.0%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
0 / 20 (0.0%)
References with detected author names
20 / 20 (100.0%)
Without detected author names
0
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
4
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
47
From DOI or external metadata
47
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
22 / 47 (46.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 25 / 47 (53.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 47 (2.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 22 (4.5%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 44 (2.3%).
  1. Virginia Braun , Victoria Clarke (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology . Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1979290264
    Crossref OpenAlex
  2. Wei Ai , William A. Cunningham , Meng-Chuan Lai (2024). Camouflaging, internalized stigma, and mental health in the general population . International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 70(7), 1239-1253. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/00207640241260020 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4401525151
    Crossref OpenAlex
  3. Linda Finlay (2002). “Outing” the Researcher: The Provenance, Process, and Practice of Reflexivity . Qualitative Health Research, 12(4), 531-545. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/104973202129120052 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2133094746
    Crossref OpenAlex
  4. Louise Bradley , Rebecca Shaw , S. Baron-Cohen , Sarah Cassidy (2021). Autistic Adults' Experiences of Camouflaging and Its Perceived Impact on Mental Health . Autism in Adulthood, 3(4), 320-329. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1089/aut.2020.0071 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3170765972
    Crossref OpenAlex
  5. Kirsti Malterud , Volkert Dirk Siersma , Ann Dorrit Guassora (2016). Sample Size in Qualitative Interview Studies . Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753-1760. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1049732315617444 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2305278139
    Crossref OpenAlex
  6. Craig Goodall (2018). ‘I felt closed in and like I couldn’t breathe’: A qualitative study exploring the mainstream educational experiences of autistic young people . Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 3, 239694151880440. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/2396941518804407 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2894153791
    Crossref OpenAlex
  7. Virginia Braun , Victoria Clarke (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis . Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/2159676x.2019.1628806 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2950504429
    Crossref OpenAlex
  8. Vivien Burr (2015). Social Constructionism . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781315715421 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2908198167
    Crossref OpenAlex
  9. Virginia Braun , Victoria Clarke (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328-352. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3048560297
    Crossref OpenAlex
  10. British Psychological Society. (2018). Code of ethics and conduct . Code of ethics and conduct.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  11. Julia Cook , Laura Hull , Laura Crane , William Mandy (2021). Camouflaging in autism: A systematic review . Clinical Psychology Review, 89(102), 102080. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102080 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3198172085
    Crossref OpenAlex
  12. Aisling Coyle , Liam O’Hare , Devon Ramey (2025). Synapse: A co-designed neurodivergent peer support programme for higher education settings . Autism, 29(7), 1711-1726. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13623613251320448 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4407886229
    Crossref OpenAlex
  14. Chloe Fielding , Alice Streeter , Deborah M Riby , Mary Hanley (2025). Neurodivergent Pupils’ Experiences of School Distress and Attendance Difficulties . Neurodiversity, 3, 275463302513270. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/27546330251327056 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4409473574
    Crossref OpenAlex
  15. Scarlett Thomas (2021). Educational experiences of individuals with special educational needs and disabilities . FPID Bulletin: The Bulletin of the Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities, 19(3), 8-11. British Psychological Society.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.53841/bpsfpid.2021.19.3.8 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4315844054
    Crossref OpenAlex
  16. Laura Gray , Vivian Hill , Elizabeth Pellicano (2023). “He’s shouting so loud but nobody’s hearing him”: A multi-informant study of autistic pupils’ experiences of school non-attendance and exclusion . Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 8, 23969415231207816-23969415231207816. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/23969415231207816 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4387755707
    Crossref OpenAlex
  17. Uta Frith (2021). Autism: A Very Short Introduction . Autism: A Very Short Introduction.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  18. Jane Mantzalas , Amanda Richdale , Xia Li , Cheryl Dissanayake (2024). Measuring and validating autistic burnout . Autism Research, 17(7), 1417-1449. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.3129 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4395466672
    Crossref OpenAlex
  19. Goffman E (2022). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity . Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  20. Willig C (2013). Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology . Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology.
    Type: Other
    Crossref