How much do you camouflage? Take the CAT-Q test

Camouflaging is a strategy to that everyone uses in order to fit in when they want to appear “normal.” While everyone can manage a bit of camouflaging in their lives, there’s a point where it becomes completely exhausting. Autistic women camouflage more than any other group.

Read each statement below and choose the answer that best fits your experiences during social interactions. There are three types of camouflaging. This test measures each type and gives you a total score as well.

1. When I am interacting with someone, I deliberately copy their body language or facial expressions.
2. I monitor my body language or facial expressions so that I appear relaxed.
3. I rarely feel the need to put on an act in order to get through a social situation.
4. I have developed a script to follow in social situations.
5. I will repeat phrases that I have heard others say in the exact same way that I first heard them.
6. I adjust my body language or facial expressions so that I appear interested by the person I am interacting with.
7. In social situations, I feel like I’m ‘performing’ rather than being myself.
8. In my own social interactions, I use behaviours that I have learned from watching other people interacting.
9. I always think about the impression I make on other people.
10. I need the support of other people in order to socialise.
11. I practice my facial expressions and body language to make sure they look natural.
12. I don’t feel the need to make eye contact with other people if I don’t want to.
13. I have to force myself to interact with people when I am in social situations.
14. I have tried to improve my understanding of social skills by watching other people.
15. I monitor my body language or facial expressions so that I appear interested by the person I am interacting with.
16. When in social situations, I try to find ways to avoid interacting with others.
17. I have researched the rules of social interactions to improve my own social skills.
18. I am always aware of the impression I make on other people.
19. I feel free to be myself when I am with other people.
20. I learn how people use their bodies and faces to interact by watching television or films, or by reading fiction.
21. I adjust my body language or facial expressions so that I appear relaxed.
22. When talking to other people, I feel like the conversation flows naturally.
23. I have spent time learning social skills from television shows and films, and try to use these in my interactions.
24. In social interactions, I do not pay attention to what my face or body are doing.
25. In social situations, I feel like I am pretending to be ‘normal’.

Scoring

CAT-Q total score

  • Reverse the scores of the answers for statements 3, 12, 19, 22, and 24, like so:
  • Original scoring: a=1, b=2, c=3, d=4, e=5, f=6, g=7
  • Reverse scoring: a=7, b=6, c=5, d=4, e=3, f=2, g=1

Then, add up all answers for statements 1–25.

Compensation score

Add up all answers for statements 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, and 23.

Masking score

Add up all answers for statements 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24.Remember:  12 and 24 are reverse scored.

Assimilation score

Add up all answers for statements 3, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25.

Remember: 3, 19, and 22 are reverse scored.

Average scores

For a woman, a score of  100 or above indicates camouflaging at an autistic rate.

Average CAT-Q scores of autistics:

Autistic females camouflage the most.

Female 124

Male 110

Non-binary 122

Average CAT-Q scores of neurotypicals:

Female neurotypicals camouflage the least; non-binary neurotypicals camouflage at the same rate as autistic men.

Female 91

Male 107

Non-binary 109

Camouflaging preferences:

Autistic people are most likely to assimilate.

Neurotypical people are most likely to mask.

Want more info about best practices for camouflaging?

Send me an email with camouflaging in the subject line: penelope@penelopetrunk.com