Autism Camouflaging Test (CAT-Q)
Hull et al. 2019 · 25 items · how much you hide autistic traits and work to seem 'normal'
Ever felt like you're performing in social situations — rehearsing what to say, controlling your expressions, and going home exhausted? Camouflaging is how many people navigate social life, but it comes at a real cost. The CAT-Q measures your camouflaging across three areas: compensation, masking, and assimilation. 25 items, about 5-8 minutes. A research instrument, not a diagnostic tool.
Are you socialising — or performing?
Camouflaging means hiding autistic traits in social situations and working to appear neurotypical: forcing eye contact, copying expressions, rehearsing conversations, suppressing the urge to stim. For many people it is how they survive social life — but it costs real energy.
The CAT-Q (Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire), developed by Hull et al. (2019), was the first standardised self-report measure of camouflaging. Its 25 items cover three dimensions:
- Compensation — actively working around social difficulties: learning social rules, copying others, scripting conversations.
- Masking — hiding autistic traits: controlling expressions and body language, suppressing natural responses.
- Assimilation — pushing to fit in: forcing yourself to socialise, pretending to be 'normal'.
Reading Your Score
Higher scores mean more camouflaging. The three dimension scores matter just as much as the total — some people compensate by learning, some by suppressing, some by pushing through. Knowing your pattern is more useful than a single number.
In the original study, autistic adults averaged about 4.79/7 (roughly 120/175) and non-autistic adults about 3.48/7 (roughly 87/175). Camouflaging is neither good nor bad — it is both an adaptation and a drain. Sustained high camouflaging is linked to anxiety, depression, and burnout.
A Note
The CAT-Q measures camouflaging behaviour, not autism itself. A high or low score neither confirms nor rules out an autism diagnosis — non-autistic people can camouflage heavily too (social anxiety is one example). This is a self-assessment, not a clinical diagnosis. If socialising leaves you persistently drained, or you want to understand yourself better, consider talking to a professional experienced in autism assessment.
Result Interpretation
After completing the 25 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.