Commentary

Larysa Zariczniak

Kyiv, Ukraine

        It is not easy being disabled in Kyiv. It is especially difficult being a disabled child in Kyiv. But, with the help of family and charitable organizations, children with disabilities can experience a full life in a country that is usually seen as unwelcoming of special needs children. This attitude generally stems from the Soviet Union’s lack of compassion for people with disabilities.  In 1980 one Soviet representative even went so far as to state in that “There are no invalids in the USSR!” With this state view, it was little surprise that children who were born different were usually placed in orphanages or stayed hidden in the shadows. Soviet infrastructure did not need to build special ramps for wheelchairs since people who needed wheelchairs didn’t exist.

        With the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine’s economic recession, and endemic corruption, issues concerning the disabled have not been at the forefront of any politician’s mind.  But after 25 years of independence Ukraine has begun to pay more attention to developmental disabilities, says Olesia Yaskevych, head of the volunteer organization “Bachyty Sertsem” (See with Your Heart). She also believes that children and people with disabilities have more say today than they did 25 years ago, but that “this is just the beginning.”

        Olesia herself started out as a volunteer in different oncology departments around Kyiv hospitals. She said she would “draw, play, and read with” children with disabilities. She also admitted that she was sometimes scared, “I felt guilty because I’m healthy and concerned about some problem that was nothing compared to what these children were going through.”

        She also became a mother of a disabled child. Matthew, her son, is totally blind, epileptic, and has severe developmental disabilities. It was then that Olesia experienced the endless search for centers, specialists, and techniques that would help Matthew adapt to the world around him. After a couple of years of this, “it became clear that children with complex developmental disorders in our country are generally outside the system.”

        Olesia continued to explain that the hardest part of being a mother of a disabled child is the day-to-day issues many of us don’t really take note of. The overall system is a problem she says, “a system in which there is no place for children who do not fit into the frame…There is no psychological support when the family finds out about the diagnosis. Generally, the family is alone and is often accompanied by feelings of guilt, like - I did something wrong, I’m to be blamed and so on.” Additionally, once the initial impact of the diagnosis has sunken in, schooling of disabled children becomes another issue for parents who are already stressed. “In Ukraine, there are no schools where children with complex disorders can learn, the only thing the system offers is home schooling. In practice, that means that once or twice a week, a teacher comes to the child’s home. That’s all! What kind of socialization is that?” she said. 

        “Bachyty Sertsem” was created by Olesia in 2014 to “unite the parents of these children, professionals, volunteers, and anyone who wanted to make a difference.” The organization’s main objective is to fully support families with children with severe disabilities and provide them with “assistance with complex physical, social, educational, psychological, legal, and home care support questions”. “Bachyty Sertsem” is also used as a publicity organization to promote “employment of young people with disabilities, train and equip them for jobs, integrate them into society, and help create a more tolerant and respectable society for children with special needs and their families.”

        “Bachyty Sertsem” wants Ukrainians to see a problem that many disabled people have to overcome: inaccessibility. Even a mother with a baby stroller getting from point A to point B is “a real quest for survival [as there are] no ramps and no public transportation is accessible,” Olesia explains. That is why having time to play in a park, like any other child, is a blessing for children with severe disabilities.

        On a sunny day in a park in Kyiv a group of children from “Bachyty Sertsem” met Kora - a therapy dog from Hero’s Companion. This Canadian organization was created to help rehabilitate veterans affected by the war but has grown to include working with displaced people and special needs children. On this one day, Kora managed to work with children who were blind, had intellectual development problems, and autism. While it looked like Kora was simply playing with the kids, it was more personal than that. Although one of the children couldn’t see Kora, she could feel the different textures of her coat and eventually simply bent down and hugged Kora and then went to lie down on her. The energy radiated from the British golden retriever to the little girl. Her smile was simply melting. Matthew, Olesia’s intellectually disabled son, took more time to warm up to Kora. But after almost an hour, he too couldn’t help but give in to her charming demeanor and nudges of encouragement. First he slowly touched and held onto her leash, then moved his hand to her nose, then her ear, until he eventually began to pet her. Another autistic boy simply had a good time hugging the ever-patient therapy dog.

        While this form of play with a dog may seem insignificant to some, if children such as the ones who met Kora have problems associating with the outside world or simply cannot see it, a dog can become a wonderful intermediary. A dog can feel, see, and smell the world around a child, it can respond to stimulants, and help guide children through the streets of Kyiv. A therapy dog can act as an important catalyst, helping a disabled child or a psychologically wounded veteran interact with the outside world. That is why Kora’s visit in the park with this group of special needs children is such a shining example of what dog therapy can achieve.