3-Page PDF: Navigating Autistic/ADHD/Gifted Social Satisfaction: Masking vs. Social Skills
OK, you have begun to have some awareness around masking and how you may move forward with reducing the consequences of this energy suck. Now, it’s time to figure out how to get those neglected social needs of yours (yes, you have them and they are important to your lived experience) authentically met once and formal!
I like to think of this step as an adventure in exploring your unique set of social preferences and skills to help you to feel successful in all of the things that you have learned to expect from social skills: conveying messages clearly, exchanging information, being understood by others, building and maintaining relationships, getting your needs and desires met in relationships, and confronting and resolving conflicts.
How do we do this as neurocomplex beings with all of the templates for communication and social skills are not quite created for our wiring?
Self leadership:
- Stop trying to learn about our social and communication needs and preferences solely from traditional social and communication templates.
- Actually learn about your unique social needs and preferences as they apply to your unique contexts—here is a tool I have created just for this exploration!