If one voice has accompanied the Asperger World Meeting since day one, it is Andrea Villegas. A psychologist, mother of an autistic young man and director of the Fundación Federico García Villegas “Soy diferente, soy como tú” (Cali, Colombia) — the name is her son's — she is the only speaker to have been at all three editions.
2022 · Identity and terminology
At the 1st Meeting, Villegas addressed how we name the condition and how much that weighs on a person's identity. Her motto, “I'm not like you, I'm different, but together we are powerful,” sums up her approach: difference as identity, not as deficiency.
Two ideas she repeated and that would return in later editions:
- No overprotection. “You can't guarantee you'll be with them their whole life; what we have to do is make them strong.”
- An early diagnosis is a tool, not a limiting label; and therapy “can't be a straitjacket.”
2023 · Critical thinking skills
At the 2nd Meeting she presented “Critical thinking skills in individuals with Asperger: tools for success.” Her starting point: literalness and trust in what others say make autistic people more influenceable, so teaching them to analyze information and make well-founded decisions — from childhood — is a form of protection.
She proposed a three-cycle strategy — tools, things to keep in mind and scenarios to practise — and thinking routines as a concrete resource for the classroom and the home.
2024 · Bullying and suicide prevention
At the 3rd Meeting, devoted to suicide prevention, her talk was “Living outside the standard: bullying as a suicide risk factor in the ASD population.”
“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Asking for help takes courage.”
Her protective keys:
- Solid self-esteem and self-acceptance: built through interaction; “if my parents accept me, I learn to accept myself,” and so insults “don't seep in.”
- Don't compare the autistic person with neurotypical standards; set goals according to their own maximum development.
- Emotional intelligence from an early age, for the whole class: “we teach rejection, we teach exclusion.”
- The families' grief: letting go of the child they imagined in order to accompany the one they have.
- Visible support networks: the person should know there is someone to turn to and that “there is always a way out.”
A three-year thread
Identity, critical thinking and protection from bullying are not three separate topics: they are the same idea seen at different ages. Villegas's consistency — and that of other organizations that return each edition — is part of what gives the Meeting its continuity.
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Who is Andrea Villegas?
She is a psychologist, mother of an autistic young man and director of the Fundación Federico García Villegas “Soy diferente, soy como tú” (Cali, Colombia), devoted to inclusion and to training professionals and educators in autism.
In which editions of the Asperger World Meeting has Andrea Villegas taken part?
In all three: 2022 (identity and terminology), 2023 (critical thinking skills) and 2024 (“Living outside the standard: bullying as a suicide risk factor in the ASD population”). She is the only speaker present at all of them.
What does Andrea Villegas propose to protect autistic people from bullying?
Build self-esteem and self-acceptance from the family, don't compare with neurotypical standards, teach emotional intelligence to the whole class from childhood, accompany the parents' grief and make support networks visible.