Anyone here take the CAT-Q?

I have just taken it again and got these scores:

Compensation 40.  Masking  21. Assimilation  35

My compensation score is close to the average (41.85) for an autistic woman, and my Assimilation score is lower than the female autistic average of 44.63 but higher than the female NT average of 29.

What I'm trying to understand is why I have such a low masking score, as the averages for that category for females are Autistic: 37.87 and NT: 34.69.  

The embrace autism website explains the sub category of masking as follows:

"..where Autistic people hide how they're feeling..." - why? How? I don't know how to do this.

 "For instance, they may copy what someone else is talking about if they do not know what to say" - If someone starts a conversation, I judge whether I can make a contribution or if I'm interested enough to, and if not I let others talk and either monitor the conversation until it becomes more interesting, or I see if I can start another conversation with someone else. 

"Monitoring and adjusting your face and body to appear relaxed or interested in others" - never thought of doing that. If I wanted to not appear nervous in a situation such as a job interview, I didn't adjust my face or body, I reminded myself that the interviewers are just people like me and I that I had prepared as much as I could, so I adjusted my mind, not my body.

 "Feeling pressured to make eye contact" - Before I learned about what autism is and that I might be autistic, I never thought about eye contact. I'd picked up somehow that it was polite to look at people when they speak to you and I'd also been told it was rude to stare, so I think I'd just learned to look generally at faces. I don't really think about it, as I'm usually thinking about what someone said and what I'm going to say. I can have long conversations with my partner without any eye contact at all.

 "Thinking about the impression made on others" - what? How is that masking, or hiding how you are feeling? I used to want other people to like me, but I don't believe that's the same thing? Now I don't care what other people think of me.

I have just taken it again and got these scores:

Compensation 40.  Masking  21. Assimilation  35

My compensation score is close to the average (41.85) for an autistic woman, and my Assimilation score is lower than the female autistic average of 44.63 but higher than the female NT average of 29.

What I'm trying to understand is why I have such a low masking score, as the averages for that category for females are Autistic: 37.87 and NT: 34.69.  

The embrace autism website explains the sub category of masking as follows:

"..where Autistic people hide how they're feeling..." - why? How? I don't know how to do this.

 "For instance, they may copy what someone else is talking about if they do not know what to say" - If someone starts a conversation, I judge whether I can make a contribution or if I'm interested enough to, and if not I let others talk and either monitor the conversation until it becomes more interesting, or I see if I can start another conversation with someone else. 

"Monitoring and adjusting your face and body to appear relaxed or interested in others" - never thought of doing that. If I wanted to not appear nervous in a situation such as a job interview, I didn't adjust my face or body, I reminded myself that the interviewers are just people like me and I that I had prepared as much as I could, so I adjusted my mind, not my body.

 "Feeling pressured to make eye contact" - Before I learned about what autism is and that I might be autistic, I never thought about eye contact. I'd picked up somehow that it was polite to look at people when they speak to you and I'd also been told it was rude to stare, so I think I'd just learned to look generally at faces. I don't really think about it, as I'm usually thinking about what someone said and what I'm going to say. I can have long conversations with my partner without any eye contact at all.

 "Thinking about the impression made on others" - what? How is that masking, or hiding how you are feeling? I used to want other people to like me, but I don't believe that's the same thing? Now I don't care what other people think of me.