Masking & Burnout

Masking is when a child hides their difficulties or copies others to fit in. It can be especially common for autistic and ADHD young people.

Signs of masking

• School saying everything is fine while home is very hard.
• Child mimicking others’ behaviour or speech.
• Explosive meltdowns or shutdowns after social events.

Burnout

Burnout happens when the effort to cope and mask becomes too much. Children may become withdrawn, exhausted, anxious, or stop engaging with things they used to enjoy.