Pequeterapia Promotes an Approach to Education Less Based on Universal Formulas and More Focused on Listening to, Understanding, and Supporting Children, Families, and Teachers.
By Susan Villa
Childhood presents challenges that do not always come with an instruction manual. When a child has autism, ADHD, giftedness, or other educational needs, attention is necessarily focused on the child, but there is also a family that needs to understand, support, and learn how to navigate a new reality. From this need emerged Pequeterapia, a project led by Joana Martín, a child psychologist, trainer, and education and parenting consultant who works with families and teachers, offering them practical and emotional tools.
Her experience began with working with children with autism, and it was precisely her direct contact with them, their parents, and their teachers that allowed her to identify a gap: those surrounding the child also need to feel heard, understood, and prepared. Over time, her work has expanded to counseling sessions, workshops, and training programs, and in less than a year she has worked with more than thirty schools and nearly twenty families.
Susan Villa speaks with Joana Martín about the major challenges faced by families and education professionals today: from information overload and insecurity in parenting to the need to establish healthy boundaries, properly support neurodivergence, and provide teachers with tools adapted to the realities of the classroom. It is an interview that invites us to look at childhood through listening, respect, and understanding, reminding us that behind every behavior there is an emotion or a need that deserves to be understood.
1. How was Pequeterapia born, and what personal or professional experience made you realize that families also needed support and tools?
Everything began by uploading videos about child psychology to social media. I did it to create a kind of portfolio where I could show how I work and my realistic approach to education as a mother, but I never imagined it would become what it is today. At the same time, I was specializing in autism and working as a private tutor for children with special needs.
Before long, I began receiving messages from mothers and teachers asking me if I offered any courses or if I could help them more with their children, so I took the step of offering educational counseling sessions. I have always really enjoyed teaching, so during these sessions I would end up explaining why certain things happen and why it is helpful to act in a certain way. I realized that it was helping them greatly to improve.
I obtained my trainer certification and contacted educational centers to offer workshops for families, and the truth is that they were a success. The directors also wanted me to help them with certain cases in the classroom, so I prepared courses for teachers.
Word of mouth led me, in less than a year, to work with more than 30 schools and nearly 20 families.
One day, I remember looking at my calendar and realizing that most of the people contacting me were seeking help because their children were autistic, had divergent attention, or were gifted. When there is a diagnosis or neurodivergent traits, both families and teachers feel alone and very lost, so I decided to research the subject and continue my training in this area, and for Pequeterapia to continue along the path of neurodivergent support and training.
There are many people talking about this, but we need a more practical and less clinical perspective, one that is more realistic and less generalized.
2. What does the working method you develop with families consist of, and how does it help them understand and channel children’s emotional and behavioral responses?
We always begin by listening to and validating what concerns the family. The goal is not simply to understand the child, because the child is only one part of an entire system. We look at how they relate to one another, the situation they are in, and how they perceive it.
Then we begin with family psychoeducation: we explain why certain behaviors occur and how they can respond in the healthiest way possible for everyone. Behind every behavior there is always an emotion or a need in the child, and the child expresses it as best they can at that moment. What we need is to understand it and respond in the healthiest way possible for everyone. We apply regulation strategies in everyday life, work on communication, self-awareness, self-esteem… and soon we begin to see how everyone feels more secure and confident in themselves.
Our work is not simply about telling them what to do in a particular situation, but about teaching them how to develop both practical and emotional tools so that they know how to sustain it in the long term.
3. You say that many parents are overwhelmed with information but continue to feel insecure about raising their children. Why do you think this contradiction occurs?
We have a great deal of information available, but information is not the same as knowledge. And today it is very easy to find conflicting advice on the same subject from different professionals, which creates more confusion than reassurance for families.
That uneasiness makes them feel even more in need of information, so they search for more, falling into a cycle that often causes them guilt and the feeling that they are not enough, that they do not know what else to do or where else to seek help.
It also happens that people look for general advice that will ease their concerns quickly and simply. But if we truly want to achieve long-term improvement, we need to observe each family’s individual situation and see what each person needs, not just the child, in order to adapt changes and emotional tools to their reality. We do not all need the same advice, and professionals must start from that understanding if we truly want to help them.
4. How can families establish healthy boundaries without confusing respect for the child with an overly permissive approach to education?
It is a very good and very necessary question, because there is still a false belief that respectful parenting means letting children do whatever they want or never telling them no. And that is not the case.
When a baby crawls toward an electrical outlet, we pick them up and move them away from it. That is already setting a boundary. It is not scolding them or being unpleasant with them, and I think that is where the main mistake lies: thinking that a boundary is something bad for the child because we are taking away their freedom. But it is exactly the opposite: we are giving them security.
Boundaries guide children, teach them to anticipate what may happen, and help them learn to live respectfully with others and with themselves in society. The most important thing about boundaries is how we set them. A respectful boundary is firm, clear, and consistent, but it should always be accompanied by listening and emotional validation. We can understand that a child feels bad because they cannot get what they want, just as it happens to adults. We can show them that we understand what they are going through, help them cope with that discomfort, and at the same time maintain the boundary calmly while remaining in control of the situation.
5. When a child is diagnosed with autism or has special educational needs, what kind of emotional and practical support should their parents and siblings receive?
We all need to understand what is happening in order to feel calm. When a diagnosis or suspicion arises, there is a great deal of uncertainty and concern about what things will be like and what they should do. They may even go through a grieving process over the expectations the family had built.
The first thing is for them to receive as much information as possible about the child’s qualities and needs. A very common mistake is to provide information about what the child struggles with, the negative differences compared with their peers, the weaknesses that have been identified… and this discourages them and makes the process much more difficult.
They need rigorous and realistic information, but not only from the perspective of difficulty. They also need answers to the “what do I do?” and “how do I do it?” questions for everyday life, so they can act with confidence and security in themselves.
Doing this with the support of a professional who understands the process of acceptance and learning from the very beginning makes these early stages much easier.
It is also important to care for siblings, because they experience the process from their own perspective and need spaces where they can express their emotions, ask questions, and feel equally supported. When the whole family receives support, everyone’s well-being and progress improve.
6. What changes do you consider necessary in teacher training to properly address children’s emotional and educational needs?.
I think we need to reflect on the main purpose of the education system. Education is not only about transmitting knowledge; it is also about supporting and fostering the healthy emotional and social development of young children. Educational needs are becoming increasingly diverse, but teacher training still does not provide enough preparation to support the different ways in which children learn, communicate, and develop.
Furthermore, my experience working alongside these professionals makes it clear to me that they are willing to learn because they see the need to do so. But they face the same situation as families: they cannot find practical training for the realities of the classroom, given the student-to-teacher ratios and resources currently available.
It is also true that I am seeing more and more professionals becoming aware of these issues and taking an interest in updating their knowledge and training.
7. What are your upcoming projects, and what new goals would you like to achieve with Pequeterapia?
Having managed to work alongside families and teachers has given me a very interesting perspective, and I would like to continue working in this area. Children spend many hours at school, and education is always carried out jointly by parents and teachers.
One of my major goals is to create more spaces where families and professionals can listen to one another, share tools, and build a common perspective on neurodivergent childhood education.
I would like to continue participating in conferences, congresses, and presentations, bringing knowledge about neurodivergence and emotional education closer to people in a practical and applicable way.
My purpose is for children to feel seen exactly as they are; for those of us who educate them to know how to listen beyond what they say; and for the importance of education during early childhood to be seen and valued as it deserves.
Joana Martín advocates for an understanding of education in which listening, understanding, and supporting carry as much weight as teaching. Through Pequeterapia, she focuses not only on the child.
But also on the families and teachers who form part of their environment, with a practical and respectful approach far removed from universal formulas. Her next challenge is to create more spaces for families and professionals to meet and to continue raising awareness about neurodivergence and emotional education, with a purpose that summarizes her entire philosophy: that every child should feel seen and valued exactly as they are
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