Development and pilot evaluation of the Children's Masking Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Child Psychology

Background:

• Autistic children often engage in masking or camouflaging behaviors.
• There is a lack of validated tools to assess children's subjective experience of masking.
• Understanding masking is crucial for supporting autistic individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate the Children's Masking Questionnaire (CMQ).
• To assess the acceptability and appropriateness of the CMQ with key stakeholders.
• To provide a freely available tool for research and clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Co-production approach involving autistic young people, families, and professionals.
• Two qualitative studies were conducted to gather feedback on the initial CMQ.
• Iterative refinement of the questionnaire based on participant input.

Main Results:

• The CMQ was found to be acceptable and appropriate by participants.
• Stakeholders provided valuable suggestions for improving the questionnaire.
• A refined two-part CMQ (Adult Response and Child Response) and a Good Practice Guide were finalized.

Conclusions:

• The CMQ is a useful and appropriate tool for measuring children's masking experiences.
• The finalized CMQ and guide are available for use in research and practice.
• Further validation in larger and diverse samples is recommended.