 Four reasons why you might feel like a fake autistic. Masking and self-growth. If you've done a lot of work on yourself, socially, emotionally or have been masking for an extended period of time, some of the traits that you had in childhood may not be there in adulthood. And some of those adulthood traits may be suppressed through masking. Different environments. You may be from a different culture, country, upbringing, anything like that from popular creators. When your environment doesn't line up with the people that you follow, you may feel like you aren't autistic.