“The most important thing now is to help people, to be creative, and to believe in the best future of our country”
For the International Autism Awareness Day, we are presenting the “Not Invisible and Unbreakable. Stories about the lives and challenges of Ukrainian autistic children during the war” project. With the information support of INVAK.INFO, we are telling the stories of 12 families who have learned to live on after the tragic day of February 24, 2022. The families share their experiences and feelings, secrets of overcoming difficulties in Ukraine and abroad, and each family is united with an irrefutable belief in the soonest and most long-awaited Victory.
Veronika Diadiuk – a 20-year-old talented artist from Poltava, whose paintings impress with their insight and awaken the best feelings in the heart. Her artworks amaze the viewers and win first places at art competitions due to their beauty and complex painting techniques. During the three years of full-scale war, the girl’s family went through a difficult path of escape from the enemy, relocations, separation and fear for life. But despite all the difficulties, the family continues to support each other, believing in the inevitable Victory.
February 24, 2022
The Diadiuk family received the terrible news of a full-scale war at 5 a.m., waking up to a call from their friends in Donetsk. On the other end of the phone, they sounded desperate and wildly afraid: “Oh my God, this is a real war!”
Veronika’s mother, Victoria, shares her memories:
“Shock… The first air raid alert, a kilometer-long line to the ATB store, panic, and a three-day brainstorming session “What to do?!” How to explain to Veronika, a person who lives in a world of kindness, love, and positivity, that we are being killed?”
But despite the chaos and despair, the girl’s family eventually decided to go abroad to escape the russians. At first, there was no clear plan of where and how to go. However terrified Victoria and Veronika were, like most Ukrainian mothers with children, they went to Europe. In the first weeks of the war, the girl’s mother deliberately did not explain to her daughter what the war was, and why such a sudden trip abroad was happening. They visited Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, finally arriving in Sweden. However a month later, Victoria was forced to tell her daughter what was happening and that their sudden departure from home was not a joyful trip that Veronika had loved so much before the war.
For 11 months after the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, Veronika and her mother lived in Sweden, constantly changing homes. They stayed with a family of great-uncle Johnny, in an apartment near the factory where Victoria worked, and in a house provided by the migration service. All the while, the talented young girl from Poltava was saving herself by doing what she loved – painting – staying under the care of her mother’s friend.
Despite the safe conditions, the separation from home, the language barrier, and the feeling of alienation made it very difficult to adapt to a foreign land, despite the temporary situation.
“Unfortunately, the choice of places my daughter could attend was small. It could have been classes at the church with very caring Swedish ladies or a creative studio for young children. Veronika would draw in silence because of her lack of understanding of the language. But the unusual place, and the teacher’s frightened look did not help her relax. Trips to the hospital by appointment three months in advance, the lyceum director’s refusal to allow Veronika to attend classes because of the language barrier, her lack of disability documentation, and many other problems only deepened her homesickness and desire to return as soon as possible,” explains Victoria.
In January 2023, Veronika and her mother returned to their native Poltava. In the first days, they were terrified of every air raid alert, sometimes regretting and asking themselves if they had made a mistake by leaving peaceful Europe. But they were saved by an incredible opportunity to be part of the large psycho-emotional project ArtHealthHub by Zelo. It was launched by Veronika’s artistic mentors Yaroslav Ternovskyi and his wife, Alina Honcharova. The project allowed for an incredible number of creative art therapy and drawing sessions for families raising children with disabilities and IDPs. The participants were also united by many field trips as part of a super team of cool teachers in various areas. Veronika immersed herself in all these activities: preparing, conducting, making many new friends, hugs, descending to the shelter, and communicating under air raid sirens. Victoria tells us:
“We had an incredible feeling that we were doing something important, raising spirits and sharing with Ukrainians what we know how to do. Meeting families raising children with disabilities from other cities, hearing their touching stories, and spending many hours together working on creative processes gave us the strength to do our best.”
2025
Veronika is currently a second-year student at the Institute of Arts of Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University. She is majoring in Fine Arts, Decorative Arts, and Restoration. She has friends among students and teachers who are trying their best to develop inclusive education.
According to her mother, there are difficult moments every day. It is about emotions and fear after everything, the understanding that the noise outside is not fireworks, but a real danger. It is also very difficult for the girl to be separated from her father, who is defending the country in the Armed Forces, where he joined in the first days of the war. Although her parents divorced many years ago, she still misses her father and the short meetings every six months end in days of tears.
Veronika’s mother also notes that her daughter has matured a lot during the war and has become almost independent. The girl gladly helps her mother with household chores, because Victoria has to work hard and maintain an active life-work balance.
“We live by the principle of always moving, helping others, and enjoying every moment of life. We are grateful and believe in the bright future of Ukraine and the Victory,” Veronika’s mother emphasizes.
