"It then occurred to her that the origin of some intellectual disabilities could be related with impoverishment."
Soon after graduating, in 1896, Montessori began work as a voluntary assistant in a psychiatric clinic at the University of Rome, where she cared for children with learning difficulties. The rooms were bare, with just a few pieces of furniture. One day, she found that the children were enthusiastically playing with breadcrumbs that had dropped on the floor, says Catherine L'Ecuyer, a researcher in psychology and education at the University of Navarra in Spain and author of The Wonder Approach. "It then occurred to her that the origin of some intellectual disabilities could be related with impoverishment." With the right learning materials, these and other young minds could be nurtured, Montessori concluded.