She was working for clinical psychologist Ole Ivar Lovaas, one of a few doctors who believed in behavioral therapy for autism. Lovaas had plucked the boys out of a state hospital for his unconventional treatment, which focused on positive reinforcement ― from M&Ms to animated clapping ― of good behaviors.
One of the two boys Lord worked with improved tremendously. “He had been a little terror,” Lord recalls, and had been institutionalized for years. But after a few months of intense therapy, his disruptive behaviors stopped.
The approach didn’t work so well with the second boy, however, who was severely retarded as well as autistic. “I was supposed to teach him to talk, but he didn’t understand anything about what I was trying to do,” Lord says. She was happy just to be able to teach him to wash his hands and press an elevator button.
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