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Birth
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Period: to
The First Two Years
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Social Smiling
According to my mother, I began to reflect other human's smiles as early as one month old. She reminded me of one specific instance of this: my reaction to a toy named Mr. Smiley. I had a small sun-shaped toy when I was an infant that wore a simple smiley face. When I was an infant, I would smile back at Mr. Smiley every time I saw him, something I did not do with any other toy. While the toy may not have been human, I think this is an example of my desire to mirror smiling. -
Sensorimotor Processing
When I was very little I explored my world mostly through sensorimotor processing. During this period, children seek to understand the world around them by interacting and learning from it with their senses. In my case, this stage was a bumping road. Though I was not yet diagnosed, I had sensory processing disorder. This meant that many feelings and sensations bothered me a lot. Therefore, I had trouble exploring the world around me and preferred to stay in familiar, sterile settings. -
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Early Childhood
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My sister is born
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Authoritative Parenting
All throughout my early years and up to the present, my parents have used an authoritative parenting style with both myself. and my sister. When it came to discipline, there were clear boundaries. We knew what we would not be allowed to do. At the same time, however, my parents were never distant or inflexible. They always made sure to listen to us and what we were feeling and address any problems personally and with love. -
Early Education
After I had begun to master basic spoken language, I began to learn to read fairly early. I spent a lot of time reading with my Grandma, and she made sure to expose me to a vast variety of reading material. I took up an early interest in reading, which greatly expanded my vocabulary and language skills. I also was enrolled in a pre-school program, where despite some struggles I further expanded these necessary skills and planted the seeds for a stable education. -
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Middle Childhood
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Industry vs. Inferiority
During the middle childhood period, I began experiencing Erikson's 4th psychosocial stage. This stage is characterized by children feeling a need to master socially valued skills in order to feel competent. A good example of this in my life would be my struggles with timed math tests. I would send days worrying about these tests, feeling a need to do as well as my classmates to be considered competent. I often did not do as well, and felt very useless and inferior as a result. -
Specific Learning Disorder
When I was 12 years old, I was officially diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have what was then known as Aspergers Syndrome, often called "mild autism". This made these formative years of early school difficult. I have impaired sensory and emotional processing, as well poor social skills. Ever since this time, I have consistently met with a therapist who helps me cope with these difficulties and work on interacting with others. -
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Adolescence
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Formal Operational Thought - Worldview and Capstone
After age 11, I began to be able to understand more abstract and complex concepts in the world around me. This included using complex logic, making hypothesis, and using systematic planning strategies. Now that I was able to function on a more mature operational stage, I was able to accomplish numerous difficult and complicated tasks. The most in depth of these tasks would definitely be this years' Capstone Project, which forced me to use my formal thought to the most intense degree. -
Move to Pennsylvania
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Relationships with Peers - Best Friends
As I moved into Middle and High school, I began making true relationships with peers for the first time. Obviously, I had friends in lower school, but this was the first time I began to form deeper bonds with people that were lasting and emotional. I met my best friends in early high school. Within these friendships, facilitation often occurred, meaning we influenced each other to do things we would be unlikely to do on our own, for better or for worse. -
Move to Florida
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Graduation
