A Case Study Of Reece's Life-Span Model Of Human Development

While considering this assignment, I struggled to think of a child in my life or the life of

those close to me who fit the description required for the case study. Children I know through

work seemed inappropriate; I was too close to them to look at their situations objectively.

Children of friends also seemed out of the question because I know that developmental

disabilities, even when discussed professionally, can be a touchy subject. For friends and

neighbors of mine whose children are affected, every day is filled with worry about their futures.

I knew that asking invasive questions about what, precisely, their child was going through or had

gone through would only cause more stress. As I mentioned this to a friend over coffee,

It only seems right since he is known for his theories about the lifelong implications of

lessons learned in childhood and it is clear that Reece and his family will feel the reverberations

from these stressful years for the rest of their lives. Scholars point to his “life-span model of

human development” as one which revolutionized developmental thought (Sokol, 2009). He

placed a heavy value on the social environment of each child, believing that it influenced the

child’s development. In the case of Reece, his parents were extremely supportive, if somewhat

overwhelmed, but his teachers and caregivers at his first school were extremely unsupportive.

That adds to the social element of Erikson’s “psychosocial” theory. In Reece’s case, it created

more chaos in his life and eventually turned to resentment and fear.

Erikson suggested that there are eight stages of development in a child’s life. In ages two

to four, Erikson believed that a child was working out autonomy vs. shame. Per that part of the

theory, each child begins to explore the world around that age, pushing boundaries and trying

Reece demonstrated those

consequences when he acted out violently toward his mother after upsetting his father and

violently toward his sister after upsetting his mother. The other consequence of thwarted

autonomy for a child between two and four is a deep sense of shame. That was reflected during

the interview with Reece, during which he mentioned feeling regret for the way his sister and

mother were treated. Interestingly, the “shame” mentioned by Erikson seems to have developed

later in life for Reece.

Between the ages of six and 12, a child learns industry vs. inferiority. In Reece’s case,

inferiority could have won effortlessly due to how much inattention his specific needs were

given by his teachers. Luckily, last year, he left that elementary school and began going to a

school where his needs were taken seriously. His family pointed out that he is now given extra

time to complete tests if and when he needs it and that administrators don’t protest giving him

his medication. Even his sister knows that his grades and attitude have both improved since

being given more specific