«Working with children is very rewarding and beautiful: they learn from us, but we also learn from them»

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Virginia Bejarano. Child psychology. Developmental disorders. Behavioral disorders.
Virginia Bejarano is a child psychologist who loves her job and who helps many children overcome their behavioural problems every day. We spoke to her to find out what her day is like, what it means to her to work with children who have difficulties and why it is important to act from a very early age. She also gives us the keys to help the rest of society to help them integrate.

When and why did you decide to specialize in childhood behavioral disorders?
I have always loved children: they are fun, affectionate, they transmit tenderness and they give you everything in return for very little. I trained and started in the world of Clinical Psychology in general, but always rcs data iran a perspective of behaviour analysis, which is a type of intervention with scientific evidence, backed by a multitude of investigations. But, suddenly, I had the opportunity to start working with a little one who had difficulties (specifically a language disorder and some trait within the autistic spectrum). It filled me with life, I felt useful, I could see how it is possible to teach them a lot, concepts or skills that they are not learning in a “natural” way and how you can be part of all that learning.

What are the disorders you work with most often?
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), language disorders, general learning difficulties and behavioural problems, without the need for any associated disorder.

Why is it important to detect them as soon as possible? What role does the family play in treatment?
Young children are “little sponges”; it is surprising how they are able to absorb an unlimited amount of concepts without us even realizing it. Therefore, it is very important to start working as soon as any difficulty in their development is detected. Children who do not have difficulties continue learning every second of the day, from every interaction, from every experience, from everything they observe… and they are increasingly distancing themselves from children who are having difficulties and who are not learning from their environment. That is why it is essential to intervene as early as possible and as intensively as possible: because other children are learning intensively in their daily lives.

The family plays a key role, as with any child, with or without difficulties. If the mother or father can be involved as much as possible, internalizing the guidelines given by the professional, promoting learning, permanently giving the child opportunities to put into practice what he has learned with the professional, progress will be seen much more quickly in that little one.