Masking
By: Dr. Meghan Benavides
Masking
By: Dr. Meghan Benavides
Students with any marginalized identity face pressures to hide parts of their identity to “fit in” or avoid discrimination from others. This often occurs with students with various learning differences. Today, let’s discuss how masking can negatively impact a student’s ability to focus and learn and what we can all do to improve things.
Masking and Ableism
Some disabilities are more outwardly visible than others. For example, those who use a wheelchair or a cane are easily recognizable as having a disability. When we look at people using these aids, we understand that they have a disability.
Those with ADHD, Autism, OCD, dyslexia, and other types of neurodiversity don’t face this stigma, nor do they face the same harassment and outward discrimination as those with visible disabilities. They do, however, face more pressure to mask and hide their disability. This can affect their social life, income, education, and opportunities. All of this is rooted in what is known as ableism1 or assuming that neurotypical individuals are “normal,” while anyone with a disability is not. An example would be asking someone what was “wrong” with them or saying “You don’t look disabled.”
Cognitive Load
Many experts point out that when we try to mask, our performance decreases1, 2, 3, 4. This is true for the workplace and the classroom. Masking our identity increases our cognitive load.
When I describe this to students and parents, I hold a paper plate in front of me. I explain that this is what it is like to be neurotypical. I then add another plate to each hand, and balance one on my head. I explain that this is what it is like to navigate school with a learning difference. Our brains must learn the information being taught and hold onto all the other information surrounding us. These other plates could be social anxiety, executive functioning struggles, the sound coming from outside the window, or the bright lights in the classroom. Adding masking to the mix gives us another plate. To show this, I add a plate balanced on my foot or shoulder. At this point, all the plates fall to the floor. The plates balanced on our body represent cognitive load and when our brain has to work so hard, we can’t focus on our learning. At the end of the day, students come home completely depleted and exhausted from masking all day while also trying to learn.
Isolation
Beyond academic challenges, masking can also leave someone feeling socially isolated. Whenever we repress a part of our identity, it subconsciously reinforces the message that the identity is undesirable and unacceptable. The message repeats in our head: I am wrong. This can be compounded for students with ADHD who are often labeled “the bad kid.” This message of being wrong is repeated internally and by others around you, causing devastating effects on self-esteem.
When you are constantly trying to fit in and avoid being the “other,” it can feel like no one understands you. What is so easy for everyone else is a day-to-day battle for you. Sometimes, it is just easier to spend time alone than to put in all the work and effort to interact with others. The pressure to mask can be exhausting in public spaces or can convince some to stay home alone, furthering their isolation.
So, I Shouldn’t Change Anything?
Educators, parents, and community members should not pressure those neurodivergent individuals to conform to the “normal.” When thinking about changing our behavior, we need to think: Is this a safety concern? Is it something that will improve the life of the person with a disability? Or is this a change that just makes able-neurotypical people more comfortable?
For example, if a student with Autism is stimming (repetitively moving parts of their body to self-regulate), they should not be asked to stop stimming or be removed from the environment. This is pressuring someone to mask and can cause them lasting harm.
What can we do?
To help your student navigate any marginalized identity, it is important to surround them with positive role models and messages4. These students need to see that it is possible for them to be successful and that there are others like them who are living happy, fulfilling lives. While it is easy to point to celebrities and well-known figures like Michael Phelps and Greta Thunberg as success stories, it can be equally powerful to show happy successful people living more typical lives. I always recommend Bon Appetit’s On the Line in which (without trying to be empowering) a cooking show consistently highlights those with ADHD as amazing chefs.
Finding community and connecting with others who share their identities can also be a powerful way to empower students. They can understand that their disability is not something to hide. They learn ways to navigate what makes them different, so that they can lead happier lives. When you are around people like you, you can work together to brainstorm solutions and better advocate for your own needs.
Navigating a learning difference? See how we at Bass Educational Services can help! Schedule a consultation with us to see how we can be a part of your journey to success.
- Liebowitz (2017). Just because it is ableist doesn’t mean it’s bad. Privilege. 4th Ed.
- Shumway & Wendler (2024). Neurodiversity and the Myth of Normal. Great Courses Audible Original.
- Ferdman, B. M., & Roberts, L. M. (2013). Creating inclusion for oneself: Knowing, accepting, and expressing one's whole self at work. Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion (pp. 92–203). John Wiley and Sons.
- Steele, C. (2013). Whistling Vivaldi. Audible.