[img ID: a comic compromised of 8 panels. each panel has a pink background background with a light pink border.
panel 1: on the left is an orange-and-yellow furred anthropomorphic dog with curly brown hair waving to the viewer. to the right of them is the text: "hi! I have Severe Autism! I want to talk about masking!"
panel 2: the top of the panel contains the text: "Usually, people think of masking like this."
underneath is a happy stick figure person to the left saying: "haha wow what a totally normal person. i would never guess they're autistic!"
to the right of this stick figure is a cat wearing the mask of a person, saying: "i'm actually very burnt out by this."
panel 3: the top of the panel contains the text: "But when you're higher supports needs, it's not usually like that."
from left to right, top to bottom, the 5 drawings contained are:
a small white cat with yellow headphones with a tablet in their hands. below is the text: "communication differences".
next a gray cat watching a small brown cat run very far away. below is the text: "elopement".
next a brown dog sitting in a wheelchair with a catheter and catheter bag. below is the text: "comorbid physical disabilities".
next is a brown cat with sunglasses and a gray happy cat standing next to each other. below is the text: "24/7 aid".
next is an overstimulated appearing gray fuzzy dog with a red helmet flapping their arms.
below all drawings is the text: "Our Autism is often very visible no matter what!"
panel 4: the top of the panel contains the text: "So, can higher supports autistic people mask?"
to the left of the panel is the orange dog from panel 1 saying: "It depends! some can and some can't. and when we do mask, it probably looks different!"
panel 5: the top of the panel contains the text: "here's some examples!"
the first example shows a black dog first flapping their arms, and in the next drawing chewing on their hand.
this example says: "instead of preferred stims, I might do different, often harmful stims like biting myself, pulling my hair, or picking my skin. I might also get overwhelmed a lot faster if I can't do my preferred stims. I likely can't just stop stimming completely."
the second example below it contains an image of a tan dog happily holding a pink tablet, and in the next drawing having no tablet and holding their paws over their mouth.
this example says: "instead of using my regular communication method, I might just not communicate at all. I likely have speech difficulties or can't communicate at all and can't force myself to speak "normally" [in quotes] even to mask."
the third example contains a drawing of a dazed orange cat with swirly eyes and orange headphones.
this example says: "instead of letting others know my needs, I might dissociate or go quiet. I likely get overwhelmed very easily and/or need help with basic needs like toileting. when masking, I might not ask for help when I need to."
panel 6: the top of the panel contains the text: "But what's the point of masking if you can't hide your autism?"
below is a drawing of the orange furry laying down, saying: "we still get the pressure to "Act Normal" [in quotes]. A lot of us also went through ABA and we're taught to suppress symptoms".
panel 7: this panel contains the orange fursona close up saying: "A lot of us also don't realize when we are masking!"
text to the left of her says: "family and caregivers may need to help us in this situation!"
panel 8: this panel contains the large text: "I created this short comic because I often don't feel included or represented by how others usually talk about masking, and wanted to put a different perspective out there and show you how I experience it. I hope you enjoyed it!"
below is a tiny chibi drawing of the orange furry and the credit text: "postmanic".
