Change mindset of a physically disabled child Peru

According to the Peruvian newspaper Gestión, complaints of family and gender violence increased by 130% during the quarantine period decreed to contain the arrival of the COVID 19 pandemic. At Wasi Esperanza we can state that the problem of family violence is recurrent among our beneficiaries and that at the national level it is a very worrying issue that lacks proper monitoring.
Family violence is a very complex issue that needs a comprehensive look and a transversal intervention, we know that it is not possible to have results in the short term. For this reason, Wasi Esperanza has designed a multidisciplinary intervention plan between the Psychology and Social Care services.
Family support is very important to ensure that children develop their capacities and abilities, not only because they have to reinforce the work of the therapists at home, but also because they must provide a safe environment for the child to grow up.
Despite how harmful family violence is, perseverance and determination can improve the situation for children, as is the case with Tiago.
Tiago's family is made up of very young parents who abused each other in many ways, however, they did everything possible to find a diagnosis for their child since his psychomotor and cognitive development did not go hand in hand with his age.
In Ayacucho there is no specialized center in the care of children with autism, but, it began to suspect that Tiago could be within the autism spectrum, he began with physical therapies to stimulate their motor development, at the same time, the parents received individual and group care in a psychological office. They are currently separated, but despite all the problems they had as a couple, they continued to take Tiago to his therapies.
Today Thiago is 05 years old and lives with his mother, recently his communication has begun to include words, to show signs of affection to his mother and to follow directions. His parents have worked with him since he was two years old and every time there was a crisis they noticed how little Thiago would regress or start with unwanted behaviors.
Thiago's mother reinforces the sessions that she does with the psychologist every day. On an emotional level, the mother is calmer and is reflected in the child's improvements, she knows that it is not a linear process but the emotional support that she has in the psychological office strengthens her to face future challenges.
Like Thiago's family, there are many others who face similar situations and psychological support can be a turning point in finding a healthy way out, but the first step is to recognize that there is a problem and have the desire to improve.

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2020 has been difficult for all the families of Wasi Esperanza. Many have lost their jobs or have seen a big decrease in their monthly income and the prices of basic necessities and services increased. To continue with the therapies, the use of technology has been necessary.

For many families it was something new to use in classes, therapies or follow-up. This generated a lot of frustration and impotence, added to the uncertainty about what would happen later and the constant fear that a member of the family could be infected. This made the year 2020 one of the worst for many.

Despite the difficulties we want to highlight the efforts of the families who did not allow themselves to be defeated. Such as Kinder, who is a 3-year-old boy and has Down Syndrome. He is very happy and active and he likes musical toys, looking in the mirror and playing with his brothers.

With the psychologist Kinder has already learned to identify himself by pointing when a picture of him is shown or when he is asked, Where is Kinder? With a smile he points to himself, recognizes animals by sound and says goodbye by waving his hand. We hope he learns to speak.

Mrs. Rosa, his mother, is always there for him. She is very committed to the therapies, she arrives on time and performs the activities at home to see improvement in Kinder. With the help of her two older children they do the therapies, they motivate him to do the exercises by playing with him.

The father cannot accompany him in the therapies because due to the pandemic the salaries have been reduced and to cover the expenses, he had to look for more temporary jobs to cover the expenses of the family and so that Kinder can travel to continue attending therapy.

Currently, Mrs. Rosa brings Kinder to the Center to receive therapy. She is accompanied by her brother Saul. Together they enter the psychological office and work on strengthening family ties and improving their social skills

The family has drawn strength and patience to motivate themselves and not let the pandemic overwhelm them and together they will achieve their goals.