Ivar Lovaas

Ivar Lovaas was a scientist who studied how to help children learn better. He found out that giving children positive rewards, like a toy or a treat, when they do something that is good or correct will help them learn faster and better. He also used teaching techniques that were based on understanding how the brain works, and he figured out that it was important for children to practice things over and over until they could do them on their own. He developed something called "applied behavior analysis" which is a way to teach children with autism and other types of learning difficulties. He found that by giving rewards for good behavior and working with a child on a one-on-one basis, the child would start to learn and grow in his or her own ways.