The Autistic community has a rich history that often includes poor mental health outcomes due to the increased stress and anxiety surrounding the push to have “normal” social skills. On Twitter, many autistic people utilize a hashtag to connect with others in the online Autistic community. This qualitative study analyzes the Twitter hashtag, #ActuallyAutistic, to understand masking and camouflaging from the autistic point of view. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to perform this analysis. The themes found emphasize the need for professionals to increase their understanding of the Autistic community’s value and contributions. By improving the ability of non-autistic professionals to listen directly to the Autistic community’s wants, needs, and desires, strengths of the group are reinforced. The purpose of this research is to increase awareness and understanding of autistic voices. Discussion includes implications for occupational therapists in the use of strengths-based approaches to improve client outcomes in the Autistic community.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Autistic community has a rich history that often includes poor mental health outcomes due to the increased stress and anxiety surrounding the push to have “normal” social skills. On Twitter, many autistic people utilize a hashtag to connect with others in the online Autistic community. This qualitative study analyzes the Twitter hashtag, #ActuallyAutistic, to understand masking and camouflaging from the autistic point of view. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to perform this analysis. The themes found emphasize the need for professionals to increase their understanding of the Autistic community’s value and contributions. By improving the ability of non-autistic professionals to listen directly to the Autistic community’s wants, needs, and desires, strengths of the group are reinforced. The purpose of this research is to increase awareness and understanding of autistic voices. Discussion includes implications for occupational therapists in the use of strengths-based approaches to improve client outcomes in the Autistic community. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Holloway, Phyllis Elizabeth"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z","subjects":["Autistic community","camouflaging","masking","occupational therapy","social media research","Twitter","Disability Studies","Neuroscience and Neurobiology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Phyllis Elizabeth Holloway"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/730","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Holloway, Phyllis Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Autistic community","camouflaging","masking","occupational therapy","social media research","Twitter","Disability Studies","Neuroscience and Neurobiology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Phyllis Elizabeth Holloway"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/730"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Autistic community has a rich history that often includes poor mental health outcomes due to the increased stress and anxiety surrounding the push to have “normal” social skills. On Twitter, many autistic people utilize a hashtag to connect with others in the online Autistic community. This qualitative study analyzes the Twitter hashtag, #ActuallyAutistic, to understand masking and camouflaging from the autistic point of view. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to perform this analysis. The themes found emphasize the need for professionals to increase their understanding of the Autistic community’s value and contributions. By improving the ability of non-autistic professionals to listen directly to the Autistic community’s wants, needs, and desires, strengths of the group are reinforced. The purpose of this research is to increase awareness and understanding of autistic voices. Discussion includes implications for occupational therapists in the use of strengths-based approaches to improve client outcomes in the Autistic community.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/PDF"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Price Of “Normal”: Masking In The Autistic Community"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Holloway, Phyllis Elizabeth"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Autistic community has a rich history that often includes poor mental health outcomes due to the increased stress and anxiety surrounding the push to have “normal” social skills. On Twitter, many autistic people utilize a hashtag to connect with others in the online Autistic community. This qualitative study analyzes the Twitter hashtag, #ActuallyAutistic, to understand masking and camouflaging from the autistic point of view. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to perform this analysis. The themes found emphasize the need for professionals to increase their understanding of the Autistic community’s value and contributions. By improving the ability of non-autistic professionals to listen directly to the Autistic community’s wants, needs, and desires, strengths of the group are reinforced. The purpose of this research is to increase awareness and understanding of autistic voices. Discussion includes implications for occupational therapists in the use of strengths-based approaches to improve client outcomes in the Autistic community.
"],"dc:format":["application/PDF"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/730"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Phyllis Elizabeth Holloway"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Autistic community","camouflaging","masking","occupational therapy","social media research","Twitter","Disability Studies","Neuroscience and Neurobiology"],"dc:title":["The Price Of “Normal”: Masking In The Autistic Community"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:00Z"}