Hardcover, 302 pages
English language
Published Feb. 14, 2022 by Harmony Books.
A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, giving individuals the tools to safely uncover their true selves while broadening society's narrow understanding of neurodiversity
"A remarkable work that will stand at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement."--Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism
For every visibly Autistic person you meet, there are countless "masked" Autistic people who pass as neurotypical. Masking is a common coping mechanism in which Autistic people hide their identifiably Autistic traits in order to fit in with societal norms, adopting a superficial personality at the expense of their mental health. This can include suppressing harmless stims, papering over communication challenges by presenting as unassuming and mild-mannered, and forcing themselves into situations that cause severe anxiety, all so they aren't seen as needy or "odd."
In Unmasking Autism, Dr. Devon Price …
A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, giving individuals the tools to safely uncover their true selves while broadening society's narrow understanding of neurodiversity
"A remarkable work that will stand at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement."--Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism
For every visibly Autistic person you meet, there are countless "masked" Autistic people who pass as neurotypical. Masking is a common coping mechanism in which Autistic people hide their identifiably Autistic traits in order to fit in with societal norms, adopting a superficial personality at the expense of their mental health. This can include suppressing harmless stims, papering over communication challenges by presenting as unassuming and mild-mannered, and forcing themselves into situations that cause severe anxiety, all so they aren't seen as needy or "odd."
In Unmasking Autism, Dr. Devon Price shares his personal experience with masking and blends history, social science research, prescriptions, and personal profiles to tell a story of neurodivergence that has thus far been dominated by those on the outside looking in. For Dr. Price and many others, Autism is a deep source of uniqueness and beauty. Unfortunately, living in a neurotypical world means it can also be a source of incredible alienation and pain. Most masked Autistic individuals struggle for decades before discovering who they truly are. They are also more likely to be marginalized in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and other factors, which contributes to their suffering and invisibility. Dr. Price lays the groundwork for unmasking and offers exercises that encourage self-expression, including:
It's time to honor the needs, diversity, and unique strengths of Autistic people so that they no longer have to mask--and it's time for greater public acceptance and accommodation of difference. In embracing neurodiversity, we can all reap the rewards of nonconformity and learn to live authentically, Autistic and neurotypical people alike.
The book has some helpful info and is okay overall, though honestly it didn't do much for me personally - maybe because I spent a lot of time reading neurodivergent people's experiences and general info online before reading the book, so it felt a bit redundant. If you're new to the topic though, I think it might be a good starting point.
This is an excellent look at the vast range of experiences of autistic people and the masking behaviors people engage in to appear neurotypical to the world. Price examines the costs of this masking and describes strategies for both individual and systemic unmasking strategies. There's also great analysis of the medicalization of autism and the problems with "treatments" such as ABA. Highly recommend
It was a very helpful read. To learn more about autism I started to read books and this one helped me immensely. It focuses on how autistic people mask and why they mask their autistic traits. Also, it explains why anyone who is not a "white, rich boy" has a hard time to get an official diagnosis even today. Also it comes with lots of helpful, handy exercises to put off the masks one has been wearing. Some parts of the book are a bit lot focused on the situation in the US - you may want to find data or statistics about your country-, yet, that's understandable given the author origin.
Radical and intriguing, this isn't the common book about Autism that you find in bookshelves, especially not written in languages other than English. This groundbreaking book, written by an Autistic and transgender author, is all about those hidden, 'masked' Autistics, especially from intersectionally marginalised populations, like Black, trans, women and other marginalised genders, and people with other disabilities on top.
Dr. Price takes a radical approach of harm reduction and social justice, identifying how much harm the ableist & capitalist society inflicts on Autistics (and on other neuro-divergent and disabled people, but really on everyone), forcing them into obscuring their disabilities, so that they can conform to 'normality' and function in an alienating, industrial society that punishes our quirks. The book helps neurodivergent people identifying their disability (seen from the social model of disability), and guides neuro-divergent people how they can actualise their own identity and identity their own values …
Radical and intriguing, this isn't the common book about Autism that you find in bookshelves, especially not written in languages other than English. This groundbreaking book, written by an Autistic and transgender author, is all about those hidden, 'masked' Autistics, especially from intersectionally marginalised populations, like Black, trans, women and other marginalised genders, and people with other disabilities on top.
Dr. Price takes a radical approach of harm reduction and social justice, identifying how much harm the ableist & capitalist society inflicts on Autistics (and on other neuro-divergent and disabled people, but really on everyone), forcing them into obscuring their disabilities, so that they can conform to 'normality' and function in an alienating, industrial society that punishes our quirks. The book helps neurodivergent people identifying their disability (seen from the social model of disability), and guides neuro-divergent people how they can actualise their own identity and identity their own values and worthiness. Because society often does not permit this, the book also aims to change society itself.
Throughout the book, we are guided through Heather R. Morgan's Values-Based Integration Process, which I still want to go through, especially as I am about to start a new chapter in my own life.
The only thing I really do not like about the book is that it is only available in English. There are huge knowledge gaps and language barriers when it comes to #ActuallyAustic, as lot of great resources on Autism written by Autistic authors are only available in English. As a consequence, a lot of stereotypes about (especially masked) autism still persist. I think translations of this and similar books could really counter them.
Books written from the perspective of intersectionally are very valuable. Personally, I really enjoyed that the author is transgender himself, and there are a lot of things I could personally identify with in his story and in the stories of the diverse set of interviewed Autistics.
Just gave me a lot of hope and continues to inspire me to be a better person and understand my needs. This really helped change my mindset on how I think of myself as an autistic person, and I think any autistic or even allistic person should read this!
This book helped me so much in understanding my autism and accepting myself. I feel like my life makes sense now. Hopefully I can have a fulfilling life unmasked.
A book that is best when it's doing what is supposed to be, and worst when it's trying to do something else. It's pitched as a guide to autistic masking and a way to review your own making habits, and when it's on task it is insightful and helpful, though it leans heavily on collective anecdote rather than the small but existing body of research on this area. Dr Price isn't that sort of doctor though, they are a social psychologist and far more interested in railing against systemic social issues which pads this book out to the modern expected length for non fiction self help books.
Most of his positions are plausible and passionately argued, and if you're looking for a neurodiversity acceptance manifesto you've found it, but at times it feels like this was written for the approval of an extremely online clique more than the wider neurodiverse …
A book that is best when it's doing what is supposed to be, and worst when it's trying to do something else. It's pitched as a guide to autistic masking and a way to review your own making habits, and when it's on task it is insightful and helpful, though it leans heavily on collective anecdote rather than the small but existing body of research on this area. Dr Price isn't that sort of doctor though, they are a social psychologist and far more interested in railing against systemic social issues which pads this book out to the modern expected length for non fiction self help books.
Most of his positions are plausible and passionately argued, and if you're looking for a neurodiversity acceptance manifesto you've found it, but at times it feels like this was written for the approval of an extremely online clique more than the wider neurodiverse community at large. The result is a book that is a bit of a slog to get through with most of its hidden gems buried towards the end, that is going to seem extremely dated in a few short years.
Worth a read/listen if you are curious about the latest social thinking about autism and related conditions, but this wasn't the science backed breakdown and review of how masking develops or functions I was hoping for.
Another unsatisfying book on autism. Slightly helpful, but unsatisfying. I liked the first chapter about what autism is, though I would have liked to know what kind of studies found out the information and a bit more elaboration on the technical stuff. I kind of wanted just that chapter, but it being the book.
Instead, the rest of the book was blog-style authors experiences, opinions and advice. Admittedly respectable all of it, but a bit informal for my liking. Besides maybe not jiving with the authors writing style, I think I also feel this way about the book because the science just isn't there yet. The author has to rely on "this educator is doing this thing" because there is no "this comprehensive study of what things were done and their impacts".
Another hardship I have with this book is that it describes autism from the social model of disability …
Another unsatisfying book on autism. Slightly helpful, but unsatisfying. I liked the first chapter about what autism is, though I would have liked to know what kind of studies found out the information and a bit more elaboration on the technical stuff. I kind of wanted just that chapter, but it being the book.
Instead, the rest of the book was blog-style authors experiences, opinions and advice. Admittedly respectable all of it, but a bit informal for my liking. Besides maybe not jiving with the authors writing style, I think I also feel this way about the book because the science just isn't there yet. The author has to rely on "this educator is doing this thing" because there is no "this comprehensive study of what things were done and their impacts".
Another hardship I have with this book is that it describes autism from the social model of disability point of view, which I love. But that relies heavily on the society of the autistic person to be relatable, and my society is not the authors society.
And lastly, I have the nitpicks like the author explaining what label avoidance is and immediately after using kind of shaming language towards the labels of misdiagnoses that autistics might get. Or writing about "how it is" without referencing the timeframe or locality of when and where it is like that.
So yeah, kind of nice book, helped me a bit, still unsatisfying.
On Twitter @steve_asbell remarked "I just want to hand UNMASKING AUTISM to everyone in my life and say 'Read up. Your book report is due next Friday.'", and that's a pretty accurate take. A great book for undiagnosed or late diagnosed autistic people, or just people interested in learning more about autism and how to better support the autistic people in your life. Learning about masking was one of the key insights in figuring out I'm autistic, and is poorly understood by those still informed by a conventional wisdom on autism based on outdated stereotypes and hostile ableist assumptions. If you made it to adulthood without being identified as autistic (especially likely if you depart from the stereotypes based on observing white boys from middle-class backgrounds and/or have a marginalized identity likely to be failed by our medical and mental health establishments), you very likely learned to hide or compensate …
On Twitter @steve_asbell remarked "I just want to hand UNMASKING AUTISM to everyone in my life and say 'Read up. Your book report is due next Friday.'", and that's a pretty accurate take. A great book for undiagnosed or late diagnosed autistic people, or just people interested in learning more about autism and how to better support the autistic people in your life. Learning about masking was one of the key insights in figuring out I'm autistic, and is poorly understood by those still informed by a conventional wisdom on autism based on outdated stereotypes and hostile ableist assumptions. If you made it to adulthood without being identified as autistic (especially likely if you depart from the stereotypes based on observing white boys from middle-class backgrounds and/or have a marginalized identity likely to be failed by our medical and mental health establishments), you very likely learned to hide or compensate for your autistic traits, whether or not you realized it. But doing so takes a heavy emotional and even physical toll, and others will still likely find you "off" in a variety of ways. Before I learned about autism, I spent nearly 4 decades thinking I was just a defective person unworthy of love and respect, a space alien desperately trying to pass for human. This book can help you come to terms with your mask and start to learn to live authentically. Further, the author identifies the systemic causes of the oppression of neurodiverse community as well intersections between that and other forms of oppression. Creating a society that values differences in neurotype will ultimately benefit everyone, but also requires us to create a more just society in a variety of ways. It's fair, however, to note that the advice in this book mainly applies to: 1) autistics with relatively low support needs (and thus who have the option of masking); 2) autistics in relatively high status professions or who have the ability to be self-employed, who have a greater ability to insist on accommodations; and 3) white autistics who don't face nearly as much risk in unmasking as others (many of our black and brown comrades explain that unmasking is essentially never safe for them). The author doesn't ignore these issues, but one can't help but feel them to be a little glossed over.
I suspect this is another book that I need to re-read in the near future to really get the most out of. Lots of good stuff about masking and unmasking, the mental consequences therein, the implications for friendships and relationships, and a good nod in the direction of the social constructs that make masking necessary and may make unmasking really difficult.
