The Autistic Self-Actualization Ecosystem—what Maslow missed

Maslow's hierarchy of needs concept is missing something massive when it comes to the human experience...

 

Everything that happens BEFORE a person's basic needs are met (the bottom tier of the pyramid).

Many of you said you'd be interested in hearing how I've evolved his concepts to capture the full range of human experiences (and I do mean the FULL range). 

So, here goes...

I'll start with the main difference between my ecosystem and his theory (though there are many)...

I don't see self-actualization as a far-fetched, nearly impossible goal that most people will never be able to achieve. 

(Which is very much the case with Maslow's theory if you apply it to real life circumstances.) 

In my ecosystem, almost anyone can achieve self-actualization... 

IF they know how to strategize around their own individual limitations (whether they be physical, mental, societal, financial, or literally any other limitation)...

AND they have the right supports (this one is critical for the vast majority of humans).

In my ecosystem, I refer to the limitations that prevent a person from accessing self-actualization as "barriers to access."

And in many cases, with the right external supports and the right strategies, those barriers can be removed (at *least* partially, if not completely).

In my ecosystem I also break barrier types up into two categories....

External – many of which are institutional limitations due to marginalization and discrimination 

And internal – including brain wiring differences (like autism, ADHD, OCD intellectual disabilities, etc) and mental health conditions (like depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc)

Now, in my ecosystem, there's a *baseline state* required for a person to access self-actualization. 

But it's important to understand that achieving this baseline state doesn’t mean automatic self-actualization. 

It just means there's an *access pathway* to self-actualization.

And that baseline state is... 

Safety. 

But not just physical safety. 

Emotional, mental, and psychological safety too. 

Because if a person is physically safe but they feel mentally, emotionally, or psychologically UNsafe... their brain responds the exact same way.

It's hijacked for survival and immediately switches to an automatic, reactive response mode. (Fight/flight/freeze)

This mode has one goal and one goal only... survival. Which instantly blocks access to self-actualization.

I call this the survival realm. 

Where the person is constantly fighting just to survive (aka to be safe).

But if a person DOES feel physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically safe (this will look different for everyone)... 

They exist in a different realm entirely.

I call this the growth realm.

This is where people have the ability to learn, develop, grow, and evolve as individuals. 

But, again, this is not automatic. 

Being at baseline (safety) just gives a person *access* to those things. 

Actually achieving them requires active engagement in activities that will contribute to their growth and evolution as an individual. 

And this is just the tip of my ecosystem's iceberg. 

I will likely have to write several books to fully explain everything I've mapped out.

That said, I can continue sharing smaller segments here if there's interest. So, please let me know if you found value in this content. 

I'm also thinking of running live learning sessions where I do deeper dives into certain sub topics within my ecosystem... 

Especially ones that directly relate to the neurodivergent experience. 

So, let me know if that's of interest as well.

P.s. For those who are curious, I'm an autistic philosopher of human difference. 

My educational background is in philosophy, psychology, literature, and adult learning... all of which have heavily informed how I constructed my ideas. 

My concepts are a synthesis of information I've gathered from over 40 years of acquired knowledge. 

Though I learned from a vast array of other great minds, frameworks, ideas, and entire fields of knowledge that were developed across the globe and all throughout human history...

The ideas I've mapped out and synthesized are my own.

I hope you find value in them. 🙂