The Adapted Self
An October Virtual Intensive for women who have or suspect they have autism, women who are high empathy or sensitive, neurodivergent and/or curious.
Understanding Masking, Adaptation & Identity in Autistic Women
Many autistic women don't experience masking as pretending. It can feel much more like adapting: watching, adjusting, rehearsing, mirroring, managing sensory discomfort, or learning how to move within different social and professional environments.
Over time, these adaptations can become so automatic that we stop recognizing them as adaptations at all.
In this live HerTism workshop, we'll explore how masking develops, the many ways it can appear, and why simply telling autistic women to “unmask” misses much of the complexity.
Using the HerTism Mask Map, you'll begin identifying your own patterns and asking four questions:
What am I doing? Why am I doing it? What does it cost? Would I still choose it?
Like a murmuration of starlings, adaptation can be responsive, intelligent and useful.
The goal isn't to stop adapting, but to become more aware of when you're adjusting your flight and whether that adjustment still serves you.
Saturday October 24th
Live Online · $60 · 10:00 AM–3:30 PM ET
Space is limited and registration closes October 16 to allow time for the workshop to be customized for participants.
-
No. This workshop is open to women who are diagnosed, self-identified, questioning, or simply exploring whether autism helps explain their experiences. You don't need to prove or defend where you are in that process.
-
Come anyway. Many people don't recognize masking because it doesn't feel like pretending. It may simply feel like adapting, coping, being professional, being polite, or doing what you've learned works. Exploring that distinction is a central part of the workshop.
-
No. Discussion and reflection will be available, but you're welcome to participate in whatever way feels comfortable. You can speak, use chat, or simply listen and work privately with your materials.
-
You'll receive the live workshop, the HerTism Mask Map, a downloadable participant workbook and reference materials, guided exercises, Q&A, and access to a limited-time replay of the teaching portions.
-
Because this is a live workshop with digital materials and limited enrollment, registration fees are non-refundable. If you're unable to attend live, you'll still receive access to the workshop materials and the limited-time replay of the teaching portion.
Your Workshop Day
10:00–10:15 AM · Welcome & Introduction
Settling in, orientation, and introducing the idea of the adapted self.
10:15–11:15 AM · Understanding Masking & Adaptation
What masking and camouflaging actually look like, why adaptation can become automatic, and why many autistic women don't recognize themselves as masking.
11:15–11:25 AM · Break
11:25 AM–12:15 PM · How the Adapted Self Develops
Scripting, mirroring, social monitoring, sensory adaptation, emotional expression, professional personas, relationships, belonging and the cumulative cost of continually adjusting.
12:15–1:15 PM · Lunch Break
A genuine hour away from the screen to eat, move, rest or reset.
1:15–2:15 PM · Mapping Your Adapted Self
Guided work with the HerTism Mask Map to identify adaptations across different areas of everyday life.
2:15–2:25 PM · Break
2:25–3:10 PM · From Automatic to Intentional
Looking at what you've identified through four questions: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? What does it cost? Would I still choose it? We'll begin considering what to keep, question, reduce or support.
3:10–3:30 PM · Discussion & Q&A
Questions, observations, resources and closing thoughts.