Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is a joint presentation with the World Autism Organization.
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/masking-deconstructing-the-myths
Autistics are perceived to have impairments that negatively impact their social outcomes. However, during my work with the IACC, I began to deconstruct the efforts that go into masking and how I experienced this. In the process, I concluded that masking is a human behavior experienced by all, however, for autistics, masking comes with an extraordinarily burdensome effort. In this presentation, I will discuss the implications of executive function, memory, and not fully understanding how one experiences autism. Ideas and possible solutions to aid others in deconstructing their masking challenges will be addressed.
This presentation will deconstruct the construct of masking. The learning objectives will include:
- Recognizing that masking is a human behavior executed by many-not just Autistics.
- Affirming that masking is not exclusive to girls/women who are Autistic.
- Deconstructing masking means recognizing that masking is less about social demand and more about the need for instantaneous social performance while combating executive function/processing delays.
- Learning strategies for adapting for these challenges.
Dr. Dena Gassner is a Senior Research Scientist for the AJ Drexel Autism Institute. She is a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) advising the White House on autism research and a member of the Executive Committee for the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC). She has won the Trailblazer in Diversity and Equity Award from ABC-T (Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies) and was inducted into the Health Care Hall of Fame at Union Commonwealth University. Her dissertation addressed the barriers of administrative burden as experienced by late-diagnosed autistic women. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and an autistic researcher.
In this webinar:
1:00 – ARI and WAO introductions
8:00 – Dena Gassner background and introduction
10:30 – Paradigm shift: Internalizing vs. externalizing features of autism
13:00 – Barriers to diagnosis
15:30 – Masking and co-occurring conditions
20:35 – Diagnosis and executive function
29:45 – Masking as cognitive multitasking
31:23 – Embracing authenticity and conscious adaptation
This is a joint presentation with the World Autism Organization.
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/masking-deconstructing-the-myths
Autistics are perceived to have impairments that negatively impact their social outcomes. However, during my work with the IACC, I began to deconstruct the efforts that go into masking and how I experienced this. In the process, I concluded that masking is a human behavior experienced by all, however, for autistics, masking comes with an extraordinarily burdensome effort. In this presentation, I will discuss the implications of executive function, memory, and not fully understanding how one experiences autism. Ideas and possible solutions to aid others in deconstructing their masking challenges will be addressed.
This presentation will deconstruct the construct of masking. The learning objectives will include:
- Recognizing that masking is a human behavior executed by many-not just Autistics.
- Affirming that masking is not exclusive to girls/women who are Autistic.
- Deconstructing masking means recognizing that masking is less about social demand and more about the need for instantaneous social performance while combating executive function/processing delays.
- Learning strategies for adapting for these challenges.
Dr. Dena Gassner is a Senior Research Scientist for the AJ Drexel Autism Institute. She is a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) advising the White House on autism research and a member of the Executive Committee for the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC). She has won the Trailblazer in Diversity and Equity Award from ABC-T (Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies) and was inducted into the Health Care Hall of Fame at Union Commonwealth University. Her dissertation addressed the barriers of administrative burden as experienced by late-diagnosed autistic women. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and an autistic researcher.
In this webinar:
1:00 – ARI and WAO introductions
8:00 – Dena Gassner background and introduction
10:30 – Paradigm shift: Internalizing vs. externalizing features of autism
13:00 – Barriers to diagnosis
15:30 – Masking and co-occurring conditions
20:35 – Diagnosis and executive function
29:45 – Masking as cognitive multitasking
31:23 – Embracing authenticity and conscious adaptation
