Ole Ivar Lovaas

O. Ivar Løvaas, PhD
Born Ole Ivar Løvaas
8 May 1927
Lier, Norway
Died 2 August 2010
Lancaster, California
Nationality Norwegian
Occupation Clinical Psychology Professor
Employer University of California, Los Angeles – UCLA
Known for Lovaas technique, father of applied behavior analysis
Website
http://www.lovaas.com/

Ole Ivar Løvaas PhD (8 May 1927 – 2 August 2010)[1][2] was a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist at UCLA. He is considered to be one of the fathers of applied behavior analysis (ABA, formerly called Behavior modification) through his development of the Lovaas technique and was the first to provide evidence that the behavior of autistic children can be modified through teaching.[3] In 1999, the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General described Lovaas's techniques as having been shown to be efficacious at "reducing inappropriate behavior and in increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior" which is based on thirty years of data.[4]

Lovaas method

Findings of independent peer reviewed studies show benefits associated with the Lovaas method,[5] though some have disputed this.[6] In his original studies in the late 1950s aversives such as electric shock successfully treated approximately 50% of individuals engaging in instances of extreme self-injury whose life expectancy was reduced by secondary infection. Subsequent studies were on extinction methods, in which attention is given only when persons are not engaging in self-injury.

Work with George Rekers on gender-variant children

In addition to his extensive work with autistic children, in the 1970s Lovaas co-authored four papers with George Rekers on children with atypical gender behaviors.[7][8][9][10] The subject of the first of these studies, a feminine young boy who was homosexual of 4 and half years old at the inception of treatment, committed suicide as an adult; his family attribute the suicide to this treatment.[7][11][12][13] Despite this, Lovaas and George Rekers had conducted a study that he was "indistinguishably unfeminine and showed no signs of homosexuality". Years later, the boy said he kept it hidden because his father would give him spankings if he was given a different color "poker chip" as punishment for feminine-like behavior.

Personal life

Lovaas was born in Lier, Norway and was a farm worker during the 1940s Nazi occupation of Norway. After the war, Lovaas earned a music scholarship to Luther College in the American state of Iowa. He earned his undergraduate degree at Luther College and his doctorate in psychology from the University of Washington. Married twice, Lovaas had four children from his first marriage and is survived by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[14]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Autism Support Network.
  2. ↑ Campbell, Victoria. Pioneer in autism treatment dies,
  3. ↑ "Lovaas Revisited: Should we ever have left?", by Steve Buchman, bbbautism.com, Retrieved on 28 January 2009.
  4. ↑ Satcher, David (1999). "Mental Health: A report of the Surgeon General". Department of Health and Human Services. pp. 163–164. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Sallows GO, Graupner TD (2005). "Intensive behavioral treatment for children with autism: four-year outcome and predictors". Am J Ment Retard 110 (6): 417–38. doi:10.1352/0895-8017(2005)110[417:IBTFCW]2.0.CO;2. PMID 16212446.
  6. ↑ Ospina, MB; Krebs Seida, J; Clark, B; Karkhaneh, M; Hartling, L et al. (2008). "Behavioural and Developmental Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Systematic Review". PLoS ONE 3 (11): e3755. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003755. PMC 2582449. PMID 19015734.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rekers, George A.; Lovaas, O. Ivar (1974). "Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-Role Behaviors in a Male Child". Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 7 (2): 173–190. doi:10.1901/jaba.1974.7-173. PMC 1311956. PMID 4436165. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Rekers, George A.; Lovaas, O. Ivar; Low, Benson (June 1974). "The behavioral treatment of a "transsexual" preadolescent boy". Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 2 (2): 99–116. doi:10.1007/BF00919093. PMID 4430820. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Rekers, George A.; Bentler, Peter M.; Rosen, Alexander C.; Lovaas, O. Ivar (Spring 1977). "Child gender disturbances: A clinical rationale for intervention". Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice 14 (1): 2–11. doi:10.1037/h0087487. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  10. ↑ Rekers, George A.; Rosen, Alexander C.; Lovaas, O. Ivar; Bentler, Peter M. (February 1978). "Sex-role stereotypy and professional intervention for childhood gender disturbance". Professional Psychology 9 (1): 127–136. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.9.1.127. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Bronstein, Scott; Joseph, Jessi (7 June 2011). "Therapy to change 'feminine' boy created a troubled man, family says". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Szalavitz, Maia (8 June 2011). "The 'Sissy Boy' Experiment: Why Gender-Related Cases Call for Scientists' Humility". Time. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Warren Throckmorton (9 June 2011). "Experts and Homosexuality: Don't Try This at Home". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  14. ↑ "Ole Ivar Lovaas dies at 83; UCLA psychology professor pioneered autism treatment". Los Angeles Times. 6 August 2010.

Further reading

External links