Thread by @egstirling

I had to describe my AuDHD child's school masking to a psychologist yesterday and I came up with a pretty efficient analogy. At school she is beautiful origami. Everybody loves to look at the origami, and marvel at how pleasant it is, but nobody thinks about the complicated...1/4

processes it took for her to fold that way. They just like to look at the origami and feel pleased with themselves that they're keeping the origami in one piece all day every day.
When she gets home, when she's with me, she knows I can help her unfold. I can open up all the...2/4

pieces that she's been hiding away all day. And she can just be paper, with no expectations. Just herself.
But what I forgot to tell the psychologist, was that every day the lines get folded over and over, and the lines become creases and then eventually they scar the paper.
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The origami may be beautiful but it's hiding all those scars for the sake of everyone else's enjoyment, to make sure that life is pleasant for everyone else, at its own expense. You might unfold the creases one day, but the scars will never go away.
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That's what school masking does to my child, and somehow everyone seems to be ok with that. Cos they have that cute, intricate origami all day, they don't need to consider what happens beyond that.
(5/4 just cos 🧠)
#ActuallyAutistic
#masking
#ADHDlife
#NeurodivergentTrauma