Language: Spanish
Jenniffer Villarreal is an Ecuadorian Educational Psychologist; she earned a master’s degree in Child Neuropsychology and completed the International Trained Program in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at the MIND Institute in 2019. Currently is a UC Davis Human Development P.hD. Student and a Graduate Student Researcher at the Laboratory on Language Development at the MIND Institute. For the past ten years, Jenniffer has focused on assessing and diagnosing neurodevelopment disorders in Ecuador. She has worked with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorders, intellectual, language, and learning disabilities. Jenniffer Villarreal served as lead clinician and, as such, was responsible for training junior staff on the assessment protocols and ensuring the quality of the data by providing ongoing staff supervision and reliability checks. She has coauthor book chapters and scientific articles related to neurodevelopmental disabilities specifically in Hispanic communities.
Language skills
Fluency in English and Spanish
Education
September 2021 – Present
Human Development Ph.D. Student
Child psychopathology focus
University of California Davis
2019
International Training Program in Neurodeveolpmental Disabilities
University of California-Davis- Mind Institute
2013
Master in Child Neuropsychology
Universidad Central del Ecuador
2007
Educational Psychologist
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Certifications
2022
Early Start Denver Model certified therapist
MIND Institute UC Davis
Professional experience
2019-2020
International University of Ecuador
Professor at the Faculty of Psychology
2018 – 2019
University of Valencia (Spain)
Practice Supervisor for Ecuadorian students in Neuropsychology
2019 – 2020
Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador Professor at the Faculty of Psychology
2010 – 2019
Liceo Campoverde
Coordinator of the Department of Student Counseling
2007 – 2008
Salesiana Politechnic Univerdsity
Research assistant in the project “Fomento de la lectura” in intercultural schools.
2007 – 2008
Universidad Politécnica Salesiana
Practice Coordinator of Bilingual Intercultural Education
Publications
del Hoyo Soriano, L., Villarreal, J. & Abbeduto, L. Parental Survey on Spanish-English Bilingualism in Neurotypical Development and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in the United States. Adv Neurodev Disord (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00325-6
Del Hoyo Soriano L, Villarreal JC, Sterling A, Edgin J, Berry-Kravis E, Hamilton DR, Thurman AJ, Abbeduto L. The association between expressive language skills and adaptive behavior in individuals with Down syndrome. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 21;12(1):20014. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24478-x. PMID: 36411304; PMCID: PMC9678860.
Pozo-Palacios J, Llamos-Paneque A, Rivas C, Onofre E, López-Cáceres A, Villareal J. Experiences of the Molecular Diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome in Ecuador. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 13;12:716311. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.716311. PMID: 34966298; PMCID: PMC8710471.
Abbeduto L., Thurman AJ, Villarreal J., (2020) Intertwined and Guiding Interventions. In Hagerman R., & Hagerman P., (Eds.), Title of work: Fragile X Syndrome and Premutation Disorders: New Developments and Treatments (pp. 5-14). Publisher. Mac Keith Press
Presentations
Villareal J. (2023, October) Mental health in parents of children with disabilities. MIND Institute: Learning together conference. Sacramento, U.S.A.
Villareal J. (2023, April) Career Journeys in IDD Research and Work-Life Balance. 55th Gatlinburg conference. Kansas city, U.S.A.
Pozo-Palacios J, Llamos-Paneque A, Rivas C, Onofre E, López-Cáceres A, Villareal J. (2023, March) Experiences of the Molecular Diagnosis of Fragile X Syndrome in Ecuador. The International Conference on FMR1 premutation. Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Community service
Applied Behavior Analysis ambassador for Ecuador. World Behavior Analysis Day Alliance. (2022 – Present)
Translation to Spanish. 2020 NCAEP EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES REPORT. National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice Review Team.
Professional affiliations
Mexican Association of child psychiatry
Mexican Association of Applied Behavior Analysis