I’ve been in a bit of a tough spot with my (highly suspected) autism and haven’t been able to be my masked self in quite a bit. I’m not sure if anyone can relate, but my masking used to be somewhat controllable but now I’m really bad at it—like to the point where I’m hesitant to go out in public because I’ve forgotten how to human. Like I used to be decent at acting in general, but that’s no longer the case

But anyway. I wish so desperately that I could just have access to how NTs conduct themselves in conversation just so I could have a framework for reference. Does something like this exist anywhere? Think of it as me copying people and changing up their behavior just a bit (which is how I’ve gone through my life)

  • macerated_baby_presidents [he/him]
    ·
    8 months ago

    It was a super common report from autistic people that COVID lockdowns just obliterated their ability to mask.

    Frankly even allistic people got worse at socializing in 2020. Took me a year or two to be my old self again, and when I was going to speed dating events strangers and I would often commiserate about it together. I feel the same, to a lesser degree, from WFH instead of working in an office and talking to lots of if people every day.