Anyone here take the CAT-Q?

I took the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire not long ago, and was surprised to find that against the average of 109 for adult males, my average was 149. So I mask considerably more than the average among us. It's given me a lot to think about in terms of how I behave around other people, how I behave around people I trust and am close to, and how I behave when I'm by myself. I'm curious to find out if there are others among us here who have scored similarly high, or higher.

Parents
  • Just done it.

    Total 111 - Made up of:

    Compensation

    • Copying and practicing others’ body language or facial expressions.
    • Learning social cues and skills from television, films, or books.
    • Repeating others’ phrasing and tone.

    My score: 46

    (A slightly above average autistic female score - I have learned a lot while watching others and reading the thoughts of characters in books, and did communication skills training when it was offered at work)

    Masking

    • Monitoring and adjusting your face and body to appear relaxed or interested in others.
    • Feeling pressured to make eye contact.
    • Thinking about the impression made on others.

    My score: 27

    (This is a typical NT female score - I believe it's because as I've got older I've stopped caring what others think of me, and have deliberately tried to stop masking since I realised I was doing it)

    Assimilation

    • Feeling the need to put on an act while socializing.
    • Avoiding interacting with others in social situations.
    • Needing others’ support to socialize.

    My score: 38

    (This is a typical male autistic score - autistic females usually score around 44 - Maybe it's because I feel less of a need to put on an act or avoid people while socializing than most autistic women? Or perhaps it's because I learned to compensate well? Again, too old to care now)

  • I just scored 154 (over 50 in each subcategory)! Diagnosed with both autism and ADHD - auDHD - at 51, two years ago, so I have a lifetime of being "the great pretender' to unlock, to untangle the Mask from Me. Which is like staring down miles and miles of a beach front, wondering whether I am the pebbles, the shells, or the mass of sand. Confounded

  • I know the feeling well...wasn't there some Jim Carey film called the Mask....never watched it but just spring into my head..I am going through this process at the moment, trying to re discover my true identity...

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  • I know the feeling well...wasn't there some Jim Carey film called the Mask....never watched it but just spring into my head..I am going through this process at the moment, trying to re discover my true identity...

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