Masking in Academic Settings
- Sukanksha Bajaj
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
Why some children appear capable, compliant, and successful while struggling beneath the surface.
“We are not going to share the report with the school.”
“But why?”
“They will look at them differently.”
The very psycho-educational report meant to open doors to understanding, support, and accommodations is often hidden from the one place that may need it the most. And somewhere along the way, isn’t this how masking begins?
Now the child has to perform competence while hiding an entire part of themselves, and the school continues using methods that may not work for them.
It becomes a lose-lose situation.
Masking in Academic Settings
Ever wondered why schools have formative assessments, unit tests, semester exams, and revisions spread across the year?
Because learning is meant to happen step by step:
Concept → Practice → Reinforcement → Revision |
By the time a major exam arrives, students are not meant to learn everything from scratch. They are building on what they already understand, and for many children, this system works.
However, for a child with learning difficulties, ADHD, dyslexia, or executive functioning challenges, consistency itself may be the hardest part. Retaining, organising, revisiting, and consistently applying learning can require far more mental effort than people realise.
So while others experience revision as reinforcement, some students experience every exam as starting all over again.The effort becomes heavier, and if they take a break, even briefly, their performance may drop significantly. That is when comments begin:
“He was doing so well earlier.”
“Her quality of answers has reduced.”
“They are not consistent anymore.”
But often, that inconsistency is not laziness or lack of ability. It is exhaustion. Masking takes effort, sometimes double the effort
, just to maintain the same results as everyone else. And as academic workload increases, so does the stress of maintaining that performance.
As mentioned in the previous article, masking heavily depends on the external environment and the people around the child. It starts young, not because the child never expressed difficulty, but because when they did, the support they received often did not match what they actually needed.
Signs of Masking Start Early
“My handwriting is not good.”
First session. Immediate defence.
I already knew the child struggled with writing. She had a vivid imagination, could narrate beautiful stories, and had so much to say. But when it came to translating those thoughts into writing, I would get three lines.
The recommendation that had been given to her earlier was
“More practice.”
She was frustrated and underconfident
Another example is
“I hate reading.”
So what do we do? We make them read more because reading is considered good for language development, a sign of intelligence, and a habit every child should build.
But honestly, in cases like these, practice alone does not make perfect. When a child expresses strong emotions towards a task, there is usually an underlying difficulty beneath it. And if that difficulty is not understood, one of two things often happens: avoidance or masking.
In many ways, masking is learned through experience from a very young age.
So how do we help?
Reports help – testing and labelling are not always the enemy when used in the right hands and in the right environment. In an environment, psycho-educational assessments are meant to provide understanding, direction, and support, not reduce a child to a diagnosis.
Some environments may provide accommodations, support rooms, or labels on paper, yet still miss the child’s actual emotional and learning needs.
Inclusion is not only about systems in place; it is about whether the child feels understood within them.
But for that to happen, parents, educators, and even psychologists need better training in understanding what these reports actually mean and what the child genuinely needs. Hiding the report in most cases does more harm than good.
The child continues struggling silently while the environment around them keeps expecting outcomes using methods that may not work for them.
Choosing environments carefully also matters: As mentioned earlier, a school known for academic excellence, Ivy League placements, or high achievement may sound ideal, but if the cost is constant burnout, stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion, we need to ask whether the environment is truly sustainable for that child.
And if parents choose not to disclose a diagnosis, then it becomes even more important to ensure the child has support systems outside of school that genuinely meet their needs, like the right therapies, educators and parental guidance, usually for executive functioning skills.
Some common signs we often miss
The signs are not always academic. Very often, they are emotional.
Withdrawal
The child tends to start withdrawing and appears quieter than their natural self. More compliant and easy. But quiet is not always regulation; sometimes it is hiding something deeper, especially if they are struggling. Look if the effort of this child is matching performance.
Overt reactions
Outbursts, frustration, defiance and tantrums.
Often, this is a release after holding everything together throughout the day. This is sometimes referred to as after-school restraint collapse, when the child is completely exhausted from masking.
I have students who would do anything to miss school, they would be happy to sit at home and take as many sessions. At first glance, it can look like avoidance. But when the same child willingly engages in learning outside of school, it raises a different question.
Are they avoiding the task, or are they avoiding the environment?
In many cases, they are not avoiding the work itself. They are avoiding the burden of masking and the constant feeling of inadequacy that comes with trying to keep up in a setting that does not match their needs.
This does not apply only to children. Adults experience this too in demanding environments where they constantly feel the need to perform or compensate.
Sometimes the issue is inefficient learning strategies. Sometimes it is executive functioning difficulties. Sometimes there are underlying processing differences that are being missed entirely.
Not every struggle points to a diagnosis, but when a child is working hard and still finding things difficult, it is worth paying attention. Sometimes the problem is not effort but an unmet need. The earlier we identify and understand it, the better we can support the individual before masking becomes their way of coping.
Masking is often easier to recognise in hindsight. The checklist below highlights some common emotional, behavioural, social and academic signs that may warrant a closer look.
Who should use this:
Parents observing their child at home and in school
Teachers noticing effort
rt-outcome mismatches
Anyone concerned a child might be masking academically
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