Person-environment fit and social camouflaging in autism

Abstract

Social camouflaging is a set of behaviours used by autistic people to conceal social differences. This paper provides an analysis of social camouflaging within the developmental context of autistic persons. We suggest that autistic people achieve person-environment fit with their social environment by using social camouflaging as an inauthentic form of trait expression whereby autistic traits are masked and neurotypical traits are displayed. The resulting consequences for autistic individuals may be interpersonally beneficial, but conversely intrapersonally detrimental, when considering existing theories or models of person-environment fit throughout development. The current paper explores this dichotomy and suggests implications for future social camouflaging research in autism, such as considering a broader developmental context through which to study the consequences of camouflaging. Clinical implications include an increased focus on reciprocity between autistic individuals and their social environment.