‘This Too Is a Mask’: A Neurodivergent SLP Confronts Autism and Identity

Speech-language pathologist Jennifer Cripps-Ludlum says her entire life is a mask.

As an adult, she discovered she is neurodivergent. The revelation arrived at the 2023 ASHA Convention, during a presentation on recognizing the signs of autism in young girls. After a subsequent panic attack, Cripps-Ludlum asked the presenter this question:

“What do you do if you spend so much time masking that you don’t know who you are anymore?”

On this episode of the podcast, Cripps-Ludlum shares a personal history of masking. She shares the forms masking takes in her life, and the associated emotional and physical toll. Plus, she explains why she’s found herself someplace she never expected to return to … high school.

Learn More:

• ASHA Voices: What a CSD Professor Learned About Autistic Masking While Creating Neuro-Affirming Spaces
• A Neurodivergent View: Give Us Strategies … With Choices
• Imagine True Inclusion: Defining the Social Model of Disability
• How Do We ‘Authentically’ Involve Autistic People in Research?

Transcript