ABA emerged when experimental behavior principles were applied to social behavior. There are various people that began the process of applying these principles to social behavior. One of the most famous was Ole Ivar Lovaas. In the 1960s, Lovaas became one of the first people to use applied behavior analysis as a treatment for autism. When Lovaas began using ABA to treat children with autism he changed the way developmental disorders were treated. Lovaas also thought that treatments would be more successful if they are started early in a child's life. The idea of starting treatment with a child as soon as possible is called 'early intervention'. Early intervention is still thought to be very important in ABA.