Sun Circle, a support group for people with autism, once again raised a painful topic for more than 1,000 families with children suffering from autism by screening a film about kids with this disease.
Autism is a rare disease that has stumped scientists, who know little about its causes or its specific features. One thing is certain: at a certain stage a child stops developing and withdraws completely. The most difficult thing for autistic people is to communicate. However, as Sun Circle’s experts think, in 60 percent of cases children with autism return to general schools after remedial studies, and 30 percent — to specialized ones. Most of them reach a necessary level to live in society and take care of themselves without assistance. Some autistic people are scared of touching a door-handle but may be computer geniuses at the same time.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science still has not approved a single educational program. There are only two specialized educational establishments in Ukraine — the privately-run Life School and the Sun Circle educational center for the development of autistic children. Aside from Kyiv, there are no schools of this kind in any other city in Ukraine.
Of course, autistic children may be enrolled in a boarding school, but teachers are not trained to teach them. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 children suffer from autism in our country, according to the latest analytical data. Experts say that the real number may be much higher since doctors only recently began differentiating this illness from others. In the past autistic children were diagnosed with “speech retardation” or “developmental retardation,” and in Soviet times even “schizophrenia.” The later experts start treating an autistic child, the fewer chances the child has of returning to a normal life.
“Many mothers feel that the state has turned its back to them because there are neither schools nor kindergartens for autistic children. Mothers do not know where to educate their children,” Sun Circle staffers say. The head of this civic organization, Hanna Khvorova, thinks that people should not become disheartened. The truly joyous film about autistic children, filmed by her organization, is proof of her optimism. “We have shown that it is possible to struggle against autism, but the main thing is - it is necessary!”
