Masking Dilutes Autism Diagnosis

The popular concept of 'masking'—especially used to explain why many teenage girls receive late autism diagnoses—functions as a catch‑all that risks stretching the autism label to include ordinary anxiety, social coping, or gendered socialization. If accepted without clear biomarkers or operational criteria, masking turns a clinical diagnostic category into a culturally mediated identity, complicating treatment priorities and service eligibility. — This matters because it reshapes who gets clinical help, educational accommodations, and social recognition, and feeds broader debates about medicalization, gender, and resource allocation.