No. Masking is a helpful and necessary tool at times, and we all have the right to use it when needed. That said, it's NOT a communication skill. I teach you to develop a communication practice, informed by linguistics and intercultural communication, that helps you better navigate and negotiate the invisible, implicit dimensions of communication, especially when those dimensions directly impact your neurodivergent needs. You can be skillful at being different- that's what my work is about.

Neurodivergence as culture means understanding different neurotypes- including autistic, gifted, and twice-exceptional identities- as having their own communication patterns, values, processing styles, and ways of being, rather than viewing them as disorders or deficits to be fixed. This reframes autistic directness, gifted intensity, and other traits as behaviors with their own purpose and logic, rather than as symptoms. It's an intercultural communication approach that honors neurodivergent ways of being while building more effective, affirming bridges across neurotypes.

Instead of focusing on making neurodivergent people appear more "normal" or trying to moderate intensity, I work from linguistic and intercultural frameworks that treat cross-neurotype communication as a translation challenge. Rather than ABA-style compliance training or basic social skills instruction, this approach develops sophisticated communication sovereignty skills grounded in politeness theory and intercultural competence.

Communication sovereignty is your right to communicate authentically, whether that means directness, intellectual intensity, or complex processing needs, while still being effective across different contexts. It means developing skills to navigate professional and social situations without abandoning your neurodivergent communication style. Instead of endless masking, dimming your intensity, or constant people-pleasing, you learn when and how to adapt while maintaining your neurocultural integrity and processing needs.