Emma Kendall > Quotes

“Can you imagine what it must be like to have to suppress almost every aspect of who you are? Consciously having to prepare yourself each day, just so you can socially engage? Rigorously running social scripts through your mind daily, carefully constructing all your responses and behaviours just so you can converse and interact without obvious social mishaps and judgement of your differences?”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“I’ve never been able to confidently strike up a conversation or randomly make small talk. My brain always freezes in those situations, spending too much time trying to figure out what to say. I typically need the other person to lead the conversation. It allows me to analyse the context of the interaction, which then gives me a chance to ease into it.”
― Emma Kendall, Making Sense of Love: An Autistic Romance

“Social burnout’ is a common term used within the autism community due to the effort it takes to maintain and manage a social life.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“An autistic person may consciously avoid social contact because they know they struggle in social environments. At school or work, they may prefer to sit on their own at break times or walk around, trying to find alternative things to do just so they can pass time. Keeping themselves occupied masks their anxiety and difficulties of not knowing how to interact effectively.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“Thanks”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“When a child or adult typically does well at school or in their workplace with no issues, but then explodes into disruptive meltdowns or raging anger once home in their ‘safe space’, it is a huge sign that they have been masking for the duration of the day. The energy it takes to mask and ‘fit in’ can be mentally and physically exhausting.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“An autistic person may constantly change their image (‘which mask should I wear today?’). In doing so, they may have developed a lack of self-identity caused by years of masking. This may have led to a misunderstanding of who they are, which can result in not having a sense of self or purpose.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“Working independently also allows them to ‘drop the mask.’ This is another reason why school-aged children don’t like working in groups and why they work much better on their own.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask

“We also need to teach acceptance. As a society, we are unavoidably pressured to act and behave in a certain way to be socially accepted, but it’s important to remember (and accept) that people ARE different, and it’s OK to be different.”
― Emma Kendall, Helping You to Identify and Understand Autism Masking: The Truth Behind the Mask