The brain of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is different than the brain of a child without ASD. Whereas learning comes naturally to most, a child with ASD requires repetitive instruction in how to learn. Children have different types of learning styles, but years of research has shown that learning is easier, more effective, and longer- lasting if behavioral strategies are used to assist the learning process in a systematic way. Dr. John Youngbauer, Ph.D., MFT, BCBA, previous Behavioral Services Supervisor of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center provided an analogy to explain how intensive behavioral interventions impact a child's ability to learn, and gave us a glimpse into why Applied Behavior Analysis is successful in treating this disorder. “Imagine you’re standing in front of an untouched poppy field and you decide to walk through it. Initially, it would be difficult to form the trail and no one would be able to tell in which direction you walked. But, if you followed your footsteps down the same trail, again and again, eventually a path would appear. Over time, the deep grooves ingrained in the soil would enable you to follow the path effortlessly.” This is similar to how Applied Behavior Analysis works on the brain. When learning a new skill, the more you practice, the more hard-wired it becomes in the brain, until it is working so smoothly and automatically that pre-existing deficits in those areas are minimized or eliminated.