Autism and the Search for Need Fulfilment

Abstract

• Human Needs (seven categories): Survival, safe/security, belonging/loving, self-esteem, to create/produce/know, selfactualization and beauty/mystery/transcendence. Everyone has strategies to satisfy these needs. • Stages of the life cycle: Infant/Toddler (0-3), Child (3-12), Adolescent (12-18), Young Adult (18-26), Adult (26-65), Senior (65-80) and Elder (80 to the end of the life cycle). Each stage has developmental tasks. • Aspects of the developmental Self (capitol “S”): Infant/toddler, Child, Adolescent, Young Adult, Adult, Senior, and Elder. Each self (small “s”) has abilities and skills that we use to accomplish our developmental tasks [1]. • As we accomplish our developmental tasks we fulfil our needs. • Thinking and feeling precede behavior (acting), though we may act without being aware of what we think and feel.