So now I'm seriously wondering, the masking known to the autistic (also known as "acting normal") and the false identity established by those with a false self (that comes from emotional neglect), are they the same, or have I mistaken one for the other?

It's hard for me to say, because autism would have me withdraw from people and not insist my needs were met, which looks almost identical to emotional neglect.

I wonder if Winnicott was seeing autistic children and concluding a false self existed. It's a possibility, I suppose, but not a likelihood for a professional. I may never know.

I probably will never know for me, either.