Autistic Masking at Work: Finding the Support You Need with Eric Garcia

What helps an autistic professional navigate a demanding workplace—and how do they recognize and ask for that support?

In the final episode of Patterns of Divergent Minds at Work, Cathy Rashidian speaks with autistic journalist Eric Garcia, author of We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation.

Eric shares experiences from newsrooms and political reporting, including asking an editor for clearer instructions, learning from a mentor, and becoming more intentional about his working environment.

We explore:

• Autistic masking at work and the distinction between hiding your needs and using tools that help you work.

• How mentorship supported Eric early in his journalism career.

• How interviewing other autistic people changed his understanding of himself.

• Why professional capability and support needs can coexist.

• Autism representation, stigma, and the importance of community.

• His upcoming book’s exploration of autism and expectations of masculinity.

We close the series by inviting you to consider what you’ve recognized in your own work—and what you might adjust or ask for.

Eric’s upcoming book: Preorder Manly While Stimming: Autism and the Myth of the Masculine Ideal.

Explore your own patterns: Take the free Patterns of Divergent Minds at Work inventory.

Series: Patterns of Divergent Minds at Work · Part 5 of 5.

Eric Garcia is the Washington Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Correspondent at the Independent and the author of the book We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. He is also a columnist for MS NOW. He previously worked as an assistant editor at the Washington Post’s Outlook section and an associate editor at The Hill, as well as a correspondent for National Journal, MarketWatch, and Roll Call. He has also written for the Daily Beast, the New Republic, and Salon.com. Garcia is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.