A growing number of school counselors say they are seeing a troubling pattern: students who appear to be “doing fine” at school but fall apart emotionally at home. Many of these children are engaging in autism masking in children, a behavior where autistic traits are hidden to fit social expectations. A child may force eye contact, copy classmates’ behavior, suppress stimming, or rehearse conversations just to avoid standing out. The problem is that masking often works temporarily — until stress, anxiety, and burnout catch up.
