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The Tiered Framework for Understanding Neurodivergence

TIER 101: FOUNDATIONS & AWARENESS

Focus: Learning the common language and basic concepts.

· Core Definitions: What "neurodivergent," "neurotypical," "neurodiversity" mean.

· Major Categories: Overview of Autism Spectrum (ASD), ADHD, Dyslexia, etc., as defined by major diagnostic manuals (DSM-5).

· Basic Traits & Lived Experience: Introduction to sensory sensitivity, social communication differences, executive dysfunction, stimming, special interests/hyperfocus.

· The Social vs. Medical Model: The fundamental idea that neurodivergence can be viewed as a disability due to societal barriers, not just an individual medical deficit.

· Self-Identification & Community: Finding relatable experiences through social media, blogs, and community hashtags (#ActuallyAutistic).

TIER 201: MECHANICS & PERSONAL INTEGRATION

Focus: Understanding how neurodivergence operates in daily life and applying strategies.

· Deeper Dives into Core Concepts:

· Executive Function: Detailed breakdown of task initiation, planning, working memory, emotional regulation.

· Sensory Systems: The 8 senses (including interoception, proprioception), sensory seeking vs. avoiding, overload/shutdown/meltdown cycles.

· Monotropism: The "attention tunnel" theory of autistic focus.

· Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Commonly associated with ADHD.

· Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA): A profile of autism characterized by extreme anxiety-driven avoidance of demands.

· Masking & Camouflaging: What it is, its mental health costs, and beginning to explore "unmasking."

· Burnout: Recognizing autistic/ADHD burnout vs. depression.

· Co-occurring Conditions: Understanding links with anxiety, depression, OCD, Ehlers-Danlos, etc.

· Practical Navigation: Basics of self-advocacy, requesting accommodations, and communication strategies.

TIER 301: SYSTEMIC ANALYSIS & DECONSTRUCTION

Focus: Critically examining the systems that define, diagnose, and manage neurodivergence.

· Critique of Pathology: History of psychiatric diagnoses, critiques of functioning labels (high/low), and the harms of normalization therapies.

· Intersectionality: How race, gender, sexuality, and class dramatically impact diagnosis, support, and perception.

· Political Economy of Diagnosis: Access barriers, the role of insurance, the "lost generation" of undiagnosed adults, and privatization of support.

· Power & Language: Analyzing terms like "disorder," "deficit," "treatment," and "compliance." Exploring identity-first ("autistic person") vs. person-first language.

· Neurodivergence in Context: How capitalist productivity demands, school structures, and workplace environments create "mismatch" and disability.

· Epistemic Injustice: The concept that neurodivergent ways of knowing and communicating are often dismissed or pathologized.

TIER 401: INTERDISCIPLINARY SYNTHESIS & THEORY

Focus: Building new frameworks by integrating knowledge from other fields.

· Neuroqueer Theory: Applying queer theory to neurodivergence—seeing it as a potential for creative, liberatory deviation from cognitive norms.

· Phenomenological Approaches: Studying the unique, first-person structure of experience for neurodivergent people (e.g., time perception, sense of self, embodiment).

· Complex Systems & Ecology: Viewing the mind as a complex system or an extended system (mind-body-environment), where neurodivergence is a different configuration.

· Ethics of Care & Agency: Moving beyond basic accommodations to frameworks of "agency support," "dignity of risk," and non-coercive care.

· Mad Studies & Disability Justice: Engaging with radical frameworks that center the voices of the "mad" and disabled, fighting for liberation, not just inclusion.

· Alternative Research Methodologies: Community-based participatory research, autoethnography, and arts-based research led by neurodivergent people.

TIER 501: PIONEERING & PARADIGM SHIFTS

Focus: Frontier thinking that challenges foundational assumptions and proposes new paradigms.

· Meta-Theories of Cognition: Proposing new, overarching models that transcend the "neurotypical/neurodivergent" binary, potentially integrating insights from physics, philosophy of mind, or consciousness studies.

· Civilizational & Futurist Critique: Using neurodivergence as a lens to analyze the trajectory of human civilization and propose radical alternative social, economic, and architectural structures.

· Unification Theories: Developing testable, transdiagnostic models that link neurocognitive traits across traditional diagnostic categories to underlying biological or cognitive architectures.

· Radical Neurodiversity: Exploring the implications of neurodiversity as a fundamental, necessary principle of evolution and collective intelligence, essential for species survival and adaptation.

· Existential & Post-Humanist Inquiries: Questioning what neurodivergence reveals about the nature of being human, potential cognitive evolution, and the interface between biology and technology.

This framework provides a progressive path from basic awareness to the frontier of thought, using established community knowledge and academic fields as its foundation. It is designed to be a living structure where new ideas, like those from pioneering voices, can be integrated as they gain recognition.

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