Development and pilot evaluation of the Children's Masking Questionnaire.

Researchers developed the Children's Masking Questionnaire (CMQ) to measure how autistic children hide or camouflage their autistic characteristics. Using co-production with families, young people, and professionals, they tested whether the tool was useful and appropriate. Participants found the questionnaire helpful and suggested improvements, leading to a refined two-part version. The tool is now freely available for use in research and practice.

Key points

• No existing tools measured children's experience of masking autistic characteristics before this work
• The CMQ was developed using co-production approaches involving families, young people, and professionals
• Participants found the tool useful and appropriate with specific suggestions for improvement
• The final version includes an Adult Response part and a Child Response part
• A Good Practice Guide accompanies the questionnaire

Limitations

The study was a pilot evaluation using qualitative methods with no information on sample size, countries involved, or populations tested. It did not evaluate the tool's validity, reliability, or effectiveness in larger or diverse populations.