Misha was born in 2006. By the time he was 18 months old, he didn’t talk, which made his parents Inna and Sergey Sergiyenko very concerned for him. Their older child was talking by then, so why wasn’t Misha? The doctors they consulted soothed them, saying that their son was smart and would start talking later. Wary about the platitudes, they consulted with doctors in Israel several months later. The Israeli doctor informed them that Misha had all the signs of autism.
Misha received help in Israel. His parents too, were taught how to help Misha develop and improve his skills and behaviour. However, they couldn’t stay in Israel indefinitely and had to return to Ukraine. The situation in their homeland was bleak: a complete absence of specialised centres for children with neudevelopmental disorders, or any kind of structure to support them. The only centres in existence were created by parents with autistic children, where those kids could receive some education and assistance. The government refused to even acknowledge the existence of the issue, and few specialists could diagnose or work with autistic children. Inna decided that this would not stand, and created a foundation for helping children with autism “Child With Future”.
Through the Foundation, Inna built a pre-school for children with autism like her son. To this day this is the only full-day pre-school for autistic children in Ukraine. By the time it was built and ready, Misha was able to join his peers in an ordinary pre-school with small classes.
Today Misha is studying in a large school that specialises in English. He works alongside his neurotypical classmates in a large class – 30 pupils total. And he’s managing it without a tutor or an assistant.
During his first year there, Misha had to adapt to many new things: going to different classrooms, having different teachers for each subject, having many other kids from other classes around, a more intensive education… More importantly, he made friends with his peers. At first he was afraid of bullying, which he was subjected to in his previous school. His parents had to explain the subtle differences between bullying and normal teasing those kids do. Inna helped Misha to analyse and work through many situations he was worried about, teaching him about the peculiarities of children’s behaviour. He was still cautious, and it was only after Christmas holidays that he relaxed and announced that his classmates are great and he’s not afraid of being bullied anymore. Before that, he considered it ‘too early to tell’.
Misha does his best to build ties with his peers. Sometimes he’s afraid to try a new game, if he doesn’t know the rules, but he still makes an effort to try. He is friends with both boys and girls.
Misha is a curious and enthusiastic child. He joined aikido, music, chess and robotics afterschool classes. He runs in marathons and walks the football players into the field, he makes gifts by himself in crafts classes, and goes to autistic festivals with his parents. Recently he became a volunteer too. His job was to help a nonverbal girl in a wheelchair, who could barely move and had bad eyesight. Misha found it very difficult to communicate with someone who couldn’t respond in a way he was used to. Still, he overcame his doubts and sensory overload on the event, and read a book to her.
Misha is an active and inquisitive student. More so, he is happy! And so is his family.
Inna knows that autistic children can have a bright future, if given enough support. Her Foundation “Child With Future” is creating and implementing a complex support system for people with autism – Long Life Learning. It’s aim is to teach and support people with autism in their daily life, helping them to adapt to changes and expectations throughout their whole lives, from childhood to advanced age. Every child must have a good future – that is the main idea behind the Foundation.
“The level of help for people with ASD differs in every country, so we need more international communication to share or solutions and experiences. We need to create an inclusive culture in our countries. One that would help people with autism achieve their full potential. We have a lot of work ahead of us, spreading knowledge about autism and creating a tolerant attitude towards people who perceive this world differently,” – Inna declares in every speech she makes, both internationally and within her country.
Ukraine is desperately in need of specialists in working with people with autism. Right now Inna is launching a comprehensive educational program from specialists, which will allow neurodiverse children all around Ukraine receive their diagnosis and education. Although there is support from the Ministries of Health and Education, neither of them is able to finance the project. Therefore Inna is looking for funding opportunities for the education of doctors and teachers about autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.