BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Sinneave Foundation - ECPv6.15.19//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Sinneave Foundation
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://sinneavefoundation.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Sinneave Foundation
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Edmonton
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20250309T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20251102T080000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20260308T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20261101T080000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0600
TZNAME:MDT
DTSTART:20270314T090000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0600
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:MST
DTSTART:20271107T080000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Edmonton:20260527T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Edmonton:20260527T130000
DTSTAMP:20260604T102323
CREATED:20260504T204148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260521T181923Z
UID:10001502-1779883200-1779886800@sinneavefoundation.org
SUMMARY:The Invisible Labour of Autistic Masking
DESCRIPTION:This session explores Autistic masking and communication through the lens of Communication Work\, a health communication concept that examines why and how communication can become effortful and exhausting. \n\n\n\nDrawing on the presenter’s dissertation research\, the workshop highlights findings that conceptualize Autistic masking as a form of communication work enacted in response to stigma\, social expectations\, and efforts to avoid social isolation and disenfranchisement. The session emphasizes that masking is not simply a set of behaviors used in isolated interactions but an ongoing communicative process that unfolds over time—helping explain why masking can be so exhausting and why its negative impacts often persist even as individuals become more practiced in these behaviors. \n\n\n\nThe workshop will introduce evidence-based strategies for managing communication work\, regaining communicative agency\, and navigating interactions with non-Autistic others. \n\n\n\nDesigned to be interactive and practical\, the session offers tools to help reduce the invisible labor of masking and support more sustainable communication practices. \n\n\n\nThis session is brought to you by Autism Edmonton with support from the Sinneave Family Foundation. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWednesday\, May 2712:00 – 1:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)Online via Autism Edmonton \n\n\n\nWhen you click on the button that says “Register\,” you will be redirected to Autism Edmonton’s Eventbrite page where you can reserve your spot. \n\n\n\n\nRegister\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Presenter: \n\n\n\nAbigail D. Hazlett\, PhD\, is an Autistic health communication researcher who earned her doctorate in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in March 2026. Her work focuses on how people communicate during stressful\, uncertain\, or inequitable health experiences\, and how those interactions shape well-being\, health choices\, and access to care. Using interviews\, collaborative research with communities\, and mixed methods\, Hazlett studies how everyday conversations about health are influenced by larger systems such as healthcare institutions\, culture\, and social norms. \n\n\n\nHazlett is also a co-author of the Integrative Theory of Communication Work\, which explains communication as a form of labor shaped by expectations\, demands\, and available resources. Influenced by her own experience and in collaboration with a community advisory board of late-identified and/or  diagnosed Autistic adults\, her dissertation applied this framework to understand how late-identified Autistic adults mask their Autistic traits in response to social pressures and exclusion\, and how these experiences affect identity\, well-being\, and healthcare access. \n\n\n\nHer research aims to inform practical\, equity-focused interventions that help people navigate difficult conversations about health and identity while strengthening systems of care.
URL:https://sinneavefoundation.org/event/the-invisible-labour-of-autistic-masking/
LOCATION:Online via Autism Edmonton Eventbrite
CATEGORIES:Presentation,Workshops
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://sinneavefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Autism-Edmonton-Website-image.png
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR