Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870 and became the first woman in Italy to graduate as a Doctor of Medicine in 1896.

Her first appointment was in the Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Rome where it became apparent to her that so-called mental deficiency was largely an educational problem rather than a medical one. Along with other doctors (Itard, Seguin and others), she believed that with special educational treatment, children diagnosed with mental deficiencies could improve. This is where her observations, studies and methods began.