These conclusions are based on the annual survey of the NGO ‘Child with Future’. The survey was conducted from 29 March to 21 April 2025 and covered three categories of citizens: 

• Those who have remained in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion: 
• Those who have left Ukraine and have returned;
• Those who have left Ukraine and are still abroad.

This methodology was chosen to hear the opinions of Ukrainians. They have been living in different countries, languages and cultural environments for a long time, which naturally affects their worldview and assessment. 

Profile of the survey participants

This year, there are almost 500 Ukrainian families, of which only one in ten currently lives abroad, and the rest are in Ukraine. The groups are as follows: Stay, Returned, Abroad.

All three groups of participants live in urban areas, and 95.2% of them are parents of autistic children. The rest have identified themselves as relatives/friends/specialists.

Approximately 20% of families in both the Stay and Returned groups have displaced person status. In the Abroad group, 73% have refugee status. 

The majority of respondents living in Ukraine are raising children under the age of ten, and another third of families have autistic children in their teens. The children of the Abroad group (Ukrainians living in other countries) are older: 50% are adolescents, 8% are aged 18 and older. 

Key results of the survey

The full version of the 2025 survey is available on the NGO ‘Child with Future’ website, as well as on its Facebook and Telegram pages.

Our first question was: ‘’Has the situation with autism in Ukraine changed at all over the last year?‘’ 

Approximately 2/3 of the respondents living in Ukraine said they had not felt any changes. Meanwhile, for people who have been abroad and returned to Ukraine, the situation looks more optimistic than for those who have not left Ukraine.  

The most pessimistic opinion is held by the Abroad group, where one third believes that the situation with autism in Ukraine has become worse over the past year, but it is also quite balanced (‘No change’ – 50%, ‘Improved’ – 16.7%).

When asked about changes in the child’s condition over the past year, all participants answered almost equally. More than 55% of those living in Ukraine and 66.5% of those currently living abroad noted progress in the child’s condition (10-15% reported regression). However, this progress is accompanied by high anxiety in children, sleep and nutritional disorders. This applies to the vast majority of Ukrainian autistic children, regardless of their residence in Ukraine or the EU.  

As for the factors that have directly or indirectly caused these changes and have become the biggest challenges for Ukrainian families over the past year, respondents were divided. 

Below is a ranking of the five biggest challenges over the past year for families in each group. 

THE FIVE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF THE LAST YEAR, %.

The Stay group

1.     Psychological (63.5%)
2.     Financial issues (57.6%)
3.     Military actions and threat to life (53.2%)
4.     Lack of services and professionals for children (49.8%)
5.     Impossibility of planning (43.7%)

The Returned group

1.     Impossibility of planning (63.6%)
2.     Financial issues (62.9%)
3.     Psychological (55.2%)
4.     Military actions and threat to life (48.1%)
5.     Lack of services and professionals for children (47.5%)

The Abroad group 

1.     Psychological (49.9%)
2.     Impossibility of planning (45.8%)
3.     Bureaucratic obstacles (43.5%)
4.     Lack of services and professionals for children (37.9%)
5.     Problems with a other languages (34.7%)

We also asked the survey participants to rate the level of functioning of the areas that support autistic children in Ukraine. The results are also presented in the format of a rating of the highest and lowest scores in each group. 

THE FIVE HIGHEST SCORES (WHAT WORKS WELL)

The Stay group

1.     Cost of medical services (30.1%)
2.     Cost of services for autistic children (28.3%)
3.     Professional level of professionals (26.5%)
4.     Accessibility of medical services (16%)
5.     Level of support from compatriots (11.9%)

The Returned group

1.     Level of support from compatriots (34.8%)
2.     Professional level of professionals (34%)
3.     Cost of medical services (33.2%)
4.     Cost of services for autistic children (29%)
5.     Accessibility of services for autistic children (27.7%)

The Abroad group

1.     Attitude of the society towards autistic children in daily life (44.7%)
2.     Accessibility of medical services (32.4%)
3.     Municipal support (34%)
4.     Readiness of educational establishments to work with autistic children (28%)
5.     Professional level of professionals (24.6%)

THE FIVE LOWEST SCORES (WHAT WORKS BADLY)

The Stay group

1.     Municipal support (92.3%)
2.     Availability of infrastructure for working with autistic children (except for educational establishments) (74.7%)
3.     The state of communication with peers and friends (73.3%)
4.     State support (72%)
5.     Readiness of educational establishments to work with autistic children (70.4%)

The Returned group

1.     Public attitude towards autistic children in daily life (88.1%)
2.     Readiness of educational establishments to work with autistic children (76.4%)
3.     The state of communication with peers and friends (68.9%)
4.     Municipal support (63.3%)
5.     Availability of infrastructure for working with autistic children (except for educational establishments) (63.2%)

The Abroad group

1.     Cost of medical services (67.6%)
2.     Level of support from compatriots (62.2%)
3.     Cost of services for autistic children (54.3%)
4.     Accessibility of services for autistic children (53.1%)
5.     The state of communication with peers and friends (40.2%)

We also asked all survey participants to answer questions about family expectations for 2025. Here are the answers we received:

At the end of the survey, we asked questions that relate to the experiences and evaluative opinions of each group of participants. This set of questions was small, but we think that it is quite revealing to get the authorities and all of us to know the opinions of Ukrainian families of autistic children. 

We asked families living in Ukraine: ‘Should the Ukrainian authorities and international partners do more to rebuild the country’s infrastructure to support people with mental health and developmental disabilities?’ It should be noted that this is not just about autistic people, but a much wider group. 

‘Yes, it is important’ – 95.8%. ‘Not important’ – 0%.

When we asked the same group (families living in Ukraine): ‘Has the attitude of Ukrainian society towards people with developmental disabilities and mental health disorders changed over the past year?’ 17.7% of respondents answered ‘Yes, it has become more tolerant’, 70.8% – ‘It has not changed’.

We asked people who went abroad and returned or still live in other countries: ‘Have you faced verbal or physical aggression/provocation from pro-Russian people?’ 

43% of those still living abroad answered ‘yes’, with 16% of them saying that it was not an isolated incident. Of those who have left and returned to Ukraine, 11.2% answered ‘Yes’. 

‘Are you going to return to Ukraine?’ we asked Ukrainians living abroad. 51% of respondents gave an absolutely positive answer. 15.7% of respondents have likely already settled in the host country, because they answered ‘No’.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted via an online questionnaire between March 29 and April 19, 2025. It involved about 500 families. Most of them currently live in Ukraine, while others live in the EU countries where they were forced to move because of the Russian aggression in 2022. 

“Child with Future” is a Ukrainian NGO that has been supporting and protecting the rights of autistic children since 2009 and has been a member of the board of Autism Europe since 2012. The organization annually surveys citizens whose lives and professional activities are related to autism and other developmental disabilities. Although they are not representative from a sociological point of view, this approach allows us to obtain generalized assessments and share them with the public. 

The “Child with Future” team is sincerely grateful to the governments, NGOs, and citizens of each country that have become a second home and a shelter for Ukrainians from the horrors of the war. We would also like to thank the participants of the survey and wish them a speedy victory for Ukraine and the entire global community.

We hope that this information will be useful for all stakeholders concerned with the mental health of children in Ukraine and other countries.

Sincerely, the team of the NGO “Child with Future”

These conclusions follow from the annual survey conducted by the “Child with a Future” NGO on March 29-April 21, 2024. This time we surveyed three groups of Ukrainian citizens: 1) those who have remained in Ukraine since 2022; 2) those who were forced to leave and have already returned; and 3) those who left and remained abroad. This methodology was chosen to better and more hear the opinions of people who are forced to live (or have lived) in different countries, languages, and cultural environments. Their experiences have a significant impact on their survey responses.

The full version of the new survey is available on our website, Facebook, and Telegram.

The profile of the survey participants is as follows:

• 77% are people living in urban areas of Ukraine, where the infrastructure for supporting special children is much better than in rural areas. 
• 94% of them are parents of autistic children, and a quarter of the respondents have the status of IDPs.

As for the respondents who temporarily reside abroad, half of them are in Central and Eastern Europe, and half are in Western Europe. All of them have official refugee status.  

Regarding the age of children whose parents participated in the survey, for all categories of respondents, more than 60% are children under 14. At the same time, families living in Ukraine have mostly younger children (under 10 years old), while more than 30% of families living abroad have older children – 14+.

As our last survey was conducted in April 2023, we first wanted to know whether the overall situation with autism in Ukraine has changed over the past year. About 60% of people living in Ukraine said that they had not felt any changes, about a third saw a deterioration, and every tenth saw an improvement. From abroad, our citizens see this situation differently: “has not changed” – 37.4%; “has changed for the worse” – 35.3%; “for the better” – 27.3%.  

When asked about changes in the child’s condition over the past year, all respondents, regardless of their place of actual residence, answered almost identically. All of them noted that the biggest problems of their children are: 

1. anxiety;
2. sleep disorders; 
3. eating disorders. 

However, three times as many parents noted progress in their child’s development as regression, and about 15% of respondents reported no changes.

As for the factors that directly or indirectly caused the above changes and became the biggest challenges for Ukrainian families over the past year, the answers were divided, although not in all respects.

Thus, the TOP-5 challenges for the first category of respondents (those who stayed) were (the sum of the two highest scores):

1.   Financial difficulties – 91.3%.
2.   Lack of services and staff for the child – 82.5%.
3.   Psychological factor – 82.4%.
4.   Problems with nutrition – 73.1%.
5.   Military actions and life threats – 55.5%.

The inability to plan and bureaucratic obstacles are in sixth and seventh place, accordingly.

The least important problems mentioned by these respondents are logistical problems, lack of information, and problems with medicines.

TOP-5 challenges for the second category of survey participants (those who have left and already returned) are as follows:

1.   The inability to plan – 50.4%.
2.   Military actions and life threats – 48.9%.
3.   Psychological factor – 42.9%.
4.   Financial difficulties – 33.4%.
5.   Lack of services and specialists for children – 32.2%.

In sixth and seventh place are problems with nutrition and bureaucratic obstacles.

The least important problems for this group of respondents are problems with medicines, lack of information, and logistical problems.

TOP-5 challenges for the third category of respondents (those who are still abroad):

1.   The psychological factor – 97%.
2.   Inability to plan – 82.2%
3.   Different language environment – 70.8%.
4.   Lack of services and staff for the child – 62.3%.
5.   Military actions and life threats – 60.3%.

Financial issues and bureaucratic obstacles are in the sixth and seventh places.

The least significant problems mentioned by this group of respondents were: nutrition, lack of information, logistical problems, and problems with medicines.

As for the level of the areas on which support for autistic children depends, the respondents’ answers were divided as follows.

The top 5 lowest scores were given to the following areas (sum of the two lowest scores):

The first category (Remained)

1.   Communication with peers and friends.
2.   Readiness of educational institutions to work with autistic children.
3.   The attitude of society towards autistic children in everyday life.
4.   Infrastructure for autistic children (except for educational establishments).
5.   State support.

The best scores were given by the participants of this group of respondents to such factors as accessibility and cost of medical services, professional level of specialists for autistic children, and the cost of their services.

The answers of the participants of the second category (Returned) are quite different:

We also asked the respondents to assess the level of support for autistic children in their countries of residence, and obtained the following results:

Citizens of Ukraine who remain abroad with their children assessed the state of affairs in their country of residence:

It is interesting that the answers in this part of the survey, as well as in the assessment of the second category of respondents of the autism support system in their countries of recent residence, were distributed most evenly compared to all other questions in the questionnaire. This can be explained by the fact that this group of respondents has been in and assessed the situation in different EU countries, where the level of support for autistic children is also known to be different. This is a rather unique situation that requires further study, as we have the numbers but not the reasons behind them. In the end, the third category of Ukrainian families has changed their perception of the level of support for children with special needs abroad the most. For example, 67% of them changed their perception for the worse, and 23% for the better. The second category was not asked this question.

The last question we asked the survey participants was whether they planned to return to Ukraine, or if they were considering leaving it. The overwhelming majority of citizens living in Ukraine do not intend to leave Ukraine, although if events (russian aggression) develop dramatically, they do not exclude this possibility.

As for citizens living abroad, most of them found it difficult to say for sure: some are going to return after Ukraine’s victory, others – after the restoration of at least some living conditions or the end of hostilities at home. The option “we decided not to return” was chosen by 0% of Ukrainian families.

If we summarize and briefly present the survey results by group, we get the following picture. 

Results of the survey of the first group of respondents

• In their opinion, the situation with autism in Ukraine has not changed over the past year.
• Parents observe increased anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders in autistic children. However, 44% of the children have made progress. Regression is noted by 16.4% of parents.
• The most sensitive issues for families raising autistic children are financial difficulties, lack of staff, psychological conditions, inability to plan, and safety issues. 
• The level of state support at all levels (from the national to the school level) is low.
• The readiness of educational establishments to work with autistic children is extremely low.
• The level of support from compatriots is low, lower than last year.
• The vast majority of respondents do not consider moving abroad.

Results of the survey of the second group of respondents

• Half of the participants believe that the situation with autism in Ukraine has not changed in general, one-third think it has worsened, and 15% think it has improved.
• Children have increased anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders. Progress in children is noted by 38.5% of participants, regression – by 15.4%.
• The most vulnerable problems are the inability to plan, lack of security, psychological factors, financial difficulties, and lack of staff.
• The level of state support at all levels is low, educational institutions and society are not ready for autistic children, and communication with peers and friends is unsatisfactory.
• The same is true for the attitude toward autism abroad: financial accessibility of services for autistic children is offset by their physical inaccessibility; educational institutions are not ready for autistic children, treatment is expensive, there is no one to make friends with, and the level of support from compatriots is low.
• People are not going to leave Ukraine again, but if the aggressor succeeds in the country, most of them will be forced to put the question of re-emigration on the table.

Results of the survey of the third group of respondents

• Attitudes toward the autism support system in Ukraine are divided: one-third of respondents believe that nothing has changed in Ukraine over the past year, one-third believe it has changed for the better, and the same number believe it has changed for the worse.
• Children abroad also have increased anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders. According to parents, one-third of children’s condition has improved. Regression is reported by 12.1% of parents.
• The biggest challenges of the last year are the psychological factor, inability to plan, different language environments, and bureaucracy.
• In countries of temporary residence, the most difficult things are communication with peers, expensive medicines and services for autism, and low levels of support from compatriots.
• The majority of respondents consider the existing support system in the host countries to be ineffective, and attitudes towards it have changed significantly for the worse.
• The greatest needs are for medical examinations, experts, and communication, which are not available abroad.
• None of the respondents said they were going to stay abroad. However, the group members associate their return to Ukraine with the Victory of Ukraine, the end of military operations in their region, and the restoration of minimum conditions for peaceful living and child development.

General conclusions of the survey-2024 of the NGO “Child with Future”

• Among the target audience (TA) of the survey (Ukrainian families with autistic children), the most active were those citizens who stayed in Ukraine. Their answers also have the highest rates of both “+” and “-“, which indicates a high emotional sensitivity of people and is quite reasonable and understandable. They have been living in the conditions of ruthless russian aggression for three years now, the largest war in Europe since the Second World War.
• Citizens who were forced to leave Ukraine and still live in the EU are less ready to make categorical conclusions. Their answers are more moderate, but their civic engagement is much lower compared to the first two categories of respondents. On the other hand, long stays in other countries have made many of them realize that the system of support for children with special needs in Ukraine is not as weak as they thought before and that in other countries this sector has both its advantages and disadvantages. Compared to previous years, this category demonstrated the most moderate and critical attitude towards the establishments of the countries where they live.
• The TA’s activity has increased significantly compared to previous years (the indicator is the number of respondents). We want to believe that this is not an accidental mathematical category, but a social demand and the readiness of Ukrainian citizens to participate in the formation of a tolerant society. 
• Unfortunately, the assessment of the state of affairs with support for autistic children in the country is low, and the readiness of Ukrainian educational establishments to work with children with special needs is even lower. Such indicators as “tolerance of society” and ” involvement of other citizens” in supporting persons with disabilities are also very low. There is an acute shortage of qualified personnel everywhere.
• Despite all the challenges and problems, parents of a significant number of children in all three categories note progress, and we are very happy for them. At the same time, the rates of anxiety, sleep, and eating disorders are the highest in the history of our surveys. The war is taking its toll, and all Ukrainian children and their families are living in such conditions every day. But we are holding on. 
• Finally, respondents demonstrated the highest consensus when asked about their possible departure abroad and return to Ukraine. Everyone abroad wants to return home, and no one living in Ukraine wants to go abroad. Only intense hostilities can cause the forced evacuation of Ukrainians from their homes. We are fighting! 

Presentation of the Results of the Survey-2024 in Ukrainian

Presentation of the Results of the Survey-2024 in English

Inna Sergienko, founder of the “Child with Future” NGO and Autism Europe Consul in Ukraine:

“The war has set its priorities for the entire Ukrainian society and state. Many issues that previously seemed to be of primary importance have become secondary, as the survival of the nation and the state itself is on the table. The survey is another reminder of the difficult conditions families with special children are facing today and that the war is not a reason to turn away from them. We are fighting for freedom and democracy in a free and fair country for each citizen. 

On behalf of our entire team, I would like to sincerely thank the governments, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens of each country who have sheltered Ukrainians from the aggressor and the war waged by russia. I would like to thank the participants of the survey and wish them, all of us, all our friends and partners a speedy victory and a peaceful sky. And, of course, I want our information to be useful for all stakeholders who are concerned with the mental health of children in Ukraine and other countries. 

REFERENCES:

This survey was conducted through an online questionnaire. More than 500 families took part in it, most of whom currently live in Ukraine, and a smaller number in EU countries, where they were forced to leave due to russian aggression in 2022. “Child with Future” is a Ukrainian NGO based in Kyiv. It has been supporting and protecting the rights of autistic children since 2009 and has been a member of the board of Autism Europe since 2012. The organization regularly holds surveys of citizens whose lives and professional activities are related to autism and other developmental disabilities. Although they are not representative from a sociological point of view, this approach allows us to obtain generalized estimates and share them with the public. 

The survey is part of a broader study of the opinions of Ukrainian families with children with special needs who were forced to leave Ukraine in 2022 due to large-scale Russian aggression. Its goals are to understand how Ukrainian families with autistic children who have been living in the EU for a long time assess the provision of special needs for their children abroad; what challenges and opportunities they faced during the forced evacuation; how their assessment of Ukrainian infrastructure for the needs of autistic children has changed over time, etc.  

The survey was conducted in March-April 2023 through an online questionnaire. More than 70 families, mostly from the eastern and central regions of Ukraine and Kyiv region, took part in the survey. In the spring of 2022, they were forced to leave their homes and the borders of Ukraine. 

The biggest problems with the outbreak of war for the majority of respondents were the psychological factor (71.2%), uncertainty of the future (67.6%) and the inability to plan (66.5%). At the same time, “the sudden disappearance of services and therapists for children” (49.3%) was rated as a problem even more than logistical, financial or medical problems (48, 46 and 38%, respectively), although these were extremely acute and unpredictable during the emergency mass evacuation. However, for families with autistic children, it is the external factors that support the child that always play an extraordinary role, the value of which can hardly be overestimated. 

The same trend is confirmed by the answers to the question of what factors were the biggest challenges for people in the first weeks of their stay in another country. In addition to the purely psychological factor (76%), the second and third places are occupied by the lack of specialists and information to support the child (71 and 67%), and only in fourth place we see a factor that should by definition be in a higher position – the language barrier (54%). The lack of understanding of local bureaucracy ranked fifth (53%), while cultural and social differences, along with living conditions and food, were the least challenging for Ukrainian citizens. In these areas, as the experience of many other Ukrainians shows, there is a natural and rapid adaptation to the rules of living in the EU.

However, in rare cases, the situation can be quite different. For example, there is a case where the loud behavior of a child with autism during stress caused concern among neighbors. They called the juvenile justice authorities, whose representatives, without going into much detail about the evacuation and without understanding Ukrainian, told the mother that by law they had the right to take the child away from her and place him in a separate place of residence. Needless to say, the whole family was shocked by this experience. This particular situation was eventually resolved peacefully, but unfortunately, such things do happen and we need to talk about them. 

The condition of Ukrainian autistic children during the year abroad has undergone various and drastic changes, mostly negative – anxiety (52%), regression (30%), sleep and eating disorders (28 and 24%), and a setback in skills (19%). Of course, it is gratifying to see progress (48%) and some changes for the better (6%), but only parents know what they and their children have gone through to be able to talk about positive results. Indeed, the very nature of these indicators is extremely unstable: any pause in support for a child can lead to degradation and a setback in skills. 

In general, progress is noted by those who managed to continue or start classes with their child, while regression is noted by those who lost the opportunity to receive the usual services and facilities. 

In this context, by the way, there is a certain pattern that should be taken into account when evaluating the survey results, and this is the place of residence and social status of respondents in Ukraine. After all, the opinions of, say, residents of large Ukrainian cities with developed infrastructure for autistic children, opportunities and a certain level of income, and those of residents of villages or small towns where this is not the case, sometimes differ greatly, since the former at least have something to compare.

The majority of respondents mention financial instability, healthcare and language barriers as their most pressing problems in their host countries. Bureaucratic obstacles, lack of information about child support services, insufficient professional level of specialists, and problems with access to medical services and medicines are considered significant, though less tangible, challenges. 

At the same time, almost all respondents, regardless of their country of residence, noted that for the first time they felt sustainable, structured and systematic state and municipal support, as well as extremely high tolerance of society and institutions towards special children. Judging by the survey results, Ukrainian society still needs to work hard and thoroughly in these areas to achieve these indicators. 

At the same time, the strengths of Ukraine, which a significant proportion of respondents did not see abroad, are: accessibility and a wide range of services and facilities, a high level of specialists, strong parental organizations, the ability to influence processes at the community level, access to medicines and information, inclusion, and financial accessibility of services.

The overwhelming majority of respondents, giving their generalized assessment at our request, are inclined to believe that Ukraine is better off than many EU countries for autistic children of preschool and primary school age, and in EU countries for children over 10 and adult autistic people. The two factors that play a key role in this area are sustained government support and public tolerance. 

Half of the respondents cannot say for sure when they will return to Ukraine, although the main reasons are clear: Ukraine’s victory and the end of war. While 5.1% have already decided not to return, 10.5% are planning to return home in the near future. 

CONCLUSIONS

1. For children up to adolescence, Ukraine already has a wide, professional and accessible range of professional services and support services for autistic children and their families. These services are provided with minimal bureaucratic support, which prevents people from waiting in lines for years. 
2. European countries demonstrate a higher level of meeting the needs of adolescent and older children. 
3. European countries demonstrate a high level of tolerance towards all people with developmental disabilities without exception, in which a person with a diagnosis and their family are not isolated, but rather actively participate in social life and communication with other members of society on an equal basis, according to their characteristics, and with unconditional state support. Ukraine still needs to work on this approach.
4. The attitude of Ukrainians who have been living abroad with autistic children for a long time toward the support system for people with mental disabilities in Ukraine has improved or remained unchanged over the year. This speaks volumes in favor of Ukraine. 

“Obviously, we must do everything possible to make the positive experience of European total tolerance the norm for Ukraine,” comments Inna Sergienko, founder of the “Child with Future” NGO. – “Moreover, we have something to be proud of, and the year of war has proved it to everyone – we have to share with Europeans the principles of the national system of support and services for autistic people, its quality and accessibility, experience in implementing a high level of services, etc. 

The experience gained by millions of Ukrainians over the past year, for which Ukraine has paid and continues to pay a high price, is invaluable, as is the support of citizens of the EU, the US, and other countries. We have no moral right to devalue this experience; we must analyze it, use it, and implement it in the Ukrainian reality. For the sake of the memory of the victims, for the sake of future generations and our common European future. 

We are sincerely grateful to the governments, civil society organizations and ordinary citizens of every country that has become a second home and a safe haven from the horrors of the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine for all Ukrainians who were forced to evacuate.

We would also like to thank the participants of the survey and wish their families good health, prosperity and a speedy victory for Ukraine! 

We hope that this information will be useful for all stakeholders and institutions involved in supporting children with special needs.

Full version of the survey in Ukrainian 

Full version of the survey in English 

“Child with a Future is a Ukrainian international non-governmental organization that has been working in the autism area since 2009 and has been a member of the board of “Autism Europe” since 2012. In its activities aimed at supporting and protecting the rights of autistic people of all ages, the NGO is guided by international experience and best practices. The IGO has more than 10 ongoing projects in Ukraine, is the initiator of parliamentary hearings on autism in Ukraine, the founder of several powerful communication platforms, including the annual International Practical Autism Conference (IPAC), a participant in the world’s most renowned specialized autism conferences, etc.

The results of the survey showed that the qualitative and quantitative lack of knowledge is the same for all regions of our country – in Kyiv and large cities, as well as in small towns and villages. Families and professionals are in dire need of resources and applied knowledge to work with special children. 

The survey also showed a new trend – an increased interest in questions and information about adolescent and adult autism. If a few years ago parents and professionals needed more information about autistic children aged up to 1-3 years old, now the interest is in the disorder of older children. This is due to the fact that the information space is quite rich in autism in preschool children, but there is very little applied information and resources on working with autistic adolescents and adults with ASD. And if in large cities the need for such information is not so acute due to at least a minimum representation of resources, then in small towns and villages there is still a shortage of both early and adulthood. 

The survey confirmed the constant trend of reluctance and fear of parents of autistic children to tell the general public about their problems with children and ways to overcome them. 

American experts conducted a study and learned about the improvement in empathy and reduction of anxiety in autistic children after interacting with cats. This is reported by Pediatric Nursing magazine.

Scientists say that although they plan to study even more people, something can be said already at this stage.

The essence of the study: belonging to the control group families (having an autistic child) were monitored by specialists for 18 weeks who did not interfere in their lives. Then these people took the cat and further became the objects of research for a similar period again.

It turned out that due to communication with cats, these children increase empathy and decrease anxiety and problem behavior (hyperactivity, inattention, etc.)

Parents and children reported that a strong connection developed between them and the cats. That is why researchers recommend that these families have a pet that can positively impact their lives.

Interestingly, not only cats but also other pets can improve people’s health. 

Experts on the situation with autism in Ukraine-2020

Impact of the COVID-19 confinement on condition and activity of autistic people

According to the world’s leading organizations concerned with autism, the number of people with disorder has been steadily increasing in recent years, and currently represents 1% of the total population of the planet, i.e. more than the total population of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the number of autistic people in Ukraine remains unknown due to the lack of statistics, diagnostic difficulties, and all other problems that are common to the state, which recently only recognized the problem’s existence. There was no autism in the USSR: autistic children were simply diagnosed with «schizophrenia».

There were no statistics about autism in Ukraine in 2014, and the existing data do not reflect the real state of affairs and contradict each other. There are 3200 people with autism who are officially living in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Health. But in fact, the real number is higher, according to the social organization’s data.

The above-mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg. The real problems begin in real life, where parents of children with special needs have to live and fight for the children’s health and rights every day.

This is probably the main reason for this survey’s importance. 24 social organizations and more than 120 parents of autistic children from all regions of the country took part in the survey (organizations and parents of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions did not participate).

We do not pretend to be the ultimate truth. But we consider it extremely important to draw public attention and the expert community to its findings.

Concerning Ukrainian parents, the lack of specialists with the necessary knowledge and skills is the first problem. It was stated by 61% of respondents. This is due to the lack of real statistics of the autistic people in Ukraine. That’s why the problem is downplayed.

This explains why there was no need to train to work with children with a “non-existent” diagnosis before and does not now in Ukraine. No need, no motivation. And that’s why a lot of teachers do not really know anything about autism. Students are only superficially acquainted with this concept, but how to practice with such children in Ukrainian higher education institutions is not taught at all.

Most of all there is a lack of qualified speech therapists and defectologists, who understand the work specifics with a special child, according to the survey results.

The difficulty to diagnose is the second related problem in Ukraine. This is due to the same lack of knowledge among specialists. The doctors are not taught enough to work with autistic children and are not even familiar with the classic disorder features.

Some doctors still equate autism with schizophrenia in the best traditions of Soviet medicine, but such cases are no longer systemic. “Your child will outgrow it” is a phrase parents often hear. Many of them perceive such “soothing therapy” until the child has to go to school, but the problem has not gone away. Parents start to sound the alarm, but precious time is wasted: therapy for autistic children is effective at an early age – up to 7 years old. The second most important problem was to obtain a timely diagnosis, according to 61,7% of the respondents.

“It took us two years to prove the baby’s problems to doctors. The pediatrician still closes his eyes and is afraid to communicate with us,” tell the parents of a special child.

Half of the respondents said it was difficult to get into school (51%) and impossible to start therapy on time (48,9%). The impossibility to get pre-school education is emphasized by almost the same number of respondents (46,8%).

All three points could be reduced to one – the lack of necessary educational conditions for autistic children. Only a few can get it in Ukraine today. Inclusive education exists only on paper. Schools are unwilling and unable to take autistic children. They have no idea what to do with autistic children and there is no incentive system for teachers.

There are positive examples too. But it is rather the exception to the rules that confirms the rule – systemic issues are not resolved in Ukraine.

“The first training with parents of autistic children at my son’s school was organized by a psychologist only this year. My child goes to school for 5,5 years. None of the teachers has undergone further training in the methods of teaching autistic children at our special school,” states one of the respondents.

A survey showed that there is a catastrophic shortage of specialists, problems with early diagnosis, and the officials’ lack of interest in helping to solve autism issues in Ukraine today.

Europe and the United States are already working to make life better for autistic adults, but we are talking only about normal conditions for children at schools and pre-schools.

In fact, the Ukrainian executive and legislative authorities have made substantial progress in this direction for recent years. It is substantial, but not sufficient. And this must be recognized as a fact.

It is noteworthy (attention!) that most of the questions were directed to the Ministry of Education (57,4%) and the Ministry of Health (53,1%) among the survey participants. Third place was given to educational institutions and polyclinics (44,6%) and the fourth place got local authorities (31,9%). These data are logical: people understand that it is impossible to change the situation at the local levels without the adoption of decisions at the state level.

The picture of government involvement in autism would be incomplete without an assessment of the financial issues. The majority of respondents in the «Other» section recognized the money issue as the cornerstone. In general, the solutions to all problems have the same cost as any changes in our life.

The lack of statistics does not even allow to say theoretically how much resources are needed for the “effective problem solving” in Ukraine in 2015. Although it would be the easiest way for someone. But it is populistic to operate with fixed numbers on an issue that spans decades, as well as to demand funds from the Government of Ukraine is practically blackmailing in 2015. We think the State could provide some means to address current issues today. But it is strategically more important to feel its willingness and desire to be our reliable partner. It is not so little to recognize the problem’s importance, provide conditions for autistic people, stimulate and motivate domestic and foreign sponsors. It is not so little to participate in providing existing resources in order to face the Ukrainian autism community. And how much is this…

We also decided to measure the attitude of the Ukrainian society to the problem of autism proceeding from the well-known “Democracy is the attitude of the majority to the minority” phrase. We obtained quite encouraging results, contrary to the traditional inertia of public opinion.

Thus, one of every fifth of the respondents stated that Ukrainian society became more tolerant (!) in 2014. Almost every fourth felt an attitude change towards their problems from the Ukrainian authorities representatives during the same period.

The data are yet another confirmation of tolerance, awareness, and readiness of Ukrainian civil society to be an integral part of the civilized world in a view of the extremely difficult situation with aggression in the South-East of Ukraine. Thus, 50% of the survey participants, who “did not feel any changes”, only confirm the necessity to continue the work. For whom?

For us and the entire Ukrainian and world community. That is why 67% of the respondents stated that they feel the greatest support from Ukrainians. Another 27% of the respondents feel the international public organizations support.

Ukrainian parents and social activists have already achieved significant progress in this area over the last years (2010-2014). The Ministry of Health’ decision to recognize the “adult” autism, the allocation of funds by the state to the needs of autistic people, teaching aids, the working group on solving autism problems, the first parliamentary hearings on autism in Ukraine, international dialogue and experience exchange are among the achievements. Ukraine won the INAP 2014 – Natural Autistic People Awards (Edinburgh) for the first time in 2014.

And this is only part of the opportunities that are beginning to open up for the special children in our country. Thanks to the active participation of parents, voluntary organizations, the media, and the whole Ukrainian society we have managed to draw attention to autism. People have become more open and tolerant. They have realized that the problems of families raising autistic children are not just their internal problems. These are the problems of the whole society.

Public organizations continue fighting for people with autism despite the difficult situation in Ukraine. A major information program is underway to reach as many clinics as possible with posters about autism. There are more and more trainings about autism for specialists. A unique “TEACCH-course” organized by “Child with a future” Foundation in cooperation with the “Kolping in Ukraine” Consulting Center for autistic persons and Lviv Ivan Franko National University is among them.

Parents and activists look forward to reform the education and health-care system. They are ready to cooperate with civil society, the media, and voluntary organizations to bring the problem of autism to a new level in Ukraine.

We would like to thank our western international partners: ‘Autism-Europe’ (Europe), ‘AutismSpeaks’ (USA), ‘ANCA Canada’ (Canada). We want to express the support and readiness to cooperate with our nearest neighbors: ‘Synapsis Foundation Poland’ (Poland), ‘The APLA Chech Republic’ (Czech Republic), Fund for Support Children with Autism ‘Ashik Elem’ (Kazakhstan), ‘Otisium Otizm Spor’ (Turkey).

 ‘Child with a future’ Foundation, January 2015, Kyiv.