If you’re going to make life easier for the autistic people around you, then gradually allowing us to drop our mask is crucial. However, this comes with a huge proviso: you need to be able to handle whoever lies behind it. You must manage to adapt your expectations of your friend or family member, and show them that their true selves are even more welcome than their masked personas. It’s upsetting how rarely this happens and how often we must retreat back behind the mask, ashamed of ourselves for being so unacceptable even to our own friends.
