> To keep your job and avoid conflict, you must "mask." Masking means hiding your natural habits and feelings, while imitating the social behaviors that coworkers expect.

Isn't that just part of everyday life as a grown-up?

Some people find this process intuitive to the point they don't realize they're doing it, and others have to be actively thinking about it or it doesn't happen at all. Those with autism are more likely to tend towards the latter.

For some people it comes easier than for others. I personally don't feel like I mask all the time, only sometimes when I want to tell my colleague that he's a moron, but I don't.

This seems in the same direction as "doesn't everyone get sad?" for folks with depression. It's not a matter of this not being an experience for others, as much as it is how much energy it takes to get through it.

"Energy" in this case as a stand-in for willpower, for emotional regulation, for actual physical energy.

Yes, but it's more intense for people who find eye contact distracting or outright unpleasant on a visceral level, or who are suppresssing stimming urges that a 'normal' person doesn't experience in the first place.

> Isn't that just part of everyday life as a grown-up?

Yes it is.

The question isn't if you mask, it's what you are masking and to what extent.

There is a big difference between having sense enough not to wear your favorite gimp suit to work and not knowing how to make small talk and have to do it as performance everyday when you are at work.