Even a person with intellectual disabilities has a need for self-fulfilment
Even a person with intellectual disabilities has a need for self-fulfilment

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the issue of self-actualization, specifically for people with intellectual disabilities. This topic seems to me important and neglected, within the framework of the Iga project I approached the non-profit organization Domov Jitka in Vsetín, where I created a support group within which we rehearsed theatrical performances with the clients, within the framework of my research I then focused on the development of communication, socialization and the development of problem behavior in three selected clients and I will write about the whole research in the proceedings of Expressivity which will be published in the autumn of this year 2025. My paper is entitled Ausdruckstherapeutische Ansätze für Menschen mit geistigen Behinderungen zur Verbesserung der Eingliederung in soziale Dienste and it deals with the effect of the support group on the area of communication, cooperation and problem behavior primarily in three selected clients. However, this article will not discuss these main research aims, but will focus on a phenomenon that is not mentioned in the Proceedings but emerges from the research, namely the issue of self-actualisation and the feeling of recognition in people with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. In the introduction I discuss the issue of self-actualization in a general context, then I supplement the text with recent research that discusses the importance of self-actualization as one of the basic needs of human beings in the area of self-fulfillment and mental well-being, then I discuss self-actualization in the context of mental health prevention, and last but not least I discuss the importance of the issue of self-actualization specifically for people with intellectual disabilities. In the text below I refer to my empirical research, where I point out the importance of the phenomenon of supporting and developing self-actualization also in people with more severe to profound intellectual disabilities and how the fulfilment of the sense of self-actualization affects people with disabilities themselves, as well as their families, professional staff and the majority society.

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