An acronym created by Dr. Sidney B. Simon, professor of Education, retired from the Univ. of
Massachusetts. His activity, I Am Lovable And Capable, was developed to help children not put themselves down and learn to value themselves. He later wrote a book by that title.
The activity has become so popular that so many people have 'borrowed' it (read "plagiarized") that they've separated his name and
authorship from the material. He is still actively conducting trainings all over the US. Because the metaphor in the exercise is a SIGN with the IALAC letters on it, people say, "He ripped my sign" when they mean "he hurt my feelings."