Broken health, constant barriers in performing routine activities, unadapted environment and intolerant attitude from society – this is the list of challenges that children with disabilities struggle with every day. Each such child is waging a personal war for their own survival, while a full-scale invasion threatens all living things around them.
Let’s find out how children with disabilities live in wartime. Children with disabilities include those who have a persistent disorder of body functions as a result of an injury, disease, or birth defects that make life difficult. Among adults, depending on the degree of severity of health loss, three groups of disabilities are distinguished:
- the first – complete loss of working capacity and the need for constant care;
- the second – loss of working capacity, but the possibility of self-service;
- the third is the ability to work, but under limited conditions.
The causes of disability include:
- disorders of the musculoskeletal system;
- intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses;
- hearing impairment;
- impairment of visual functions;
- dysfunction of internal organs.
However, unlike adults, children with disabilities are the most vulnerable category, as they need constant care, so they are assigned one group, which is divided into subgroups “child with disabilities” and “child with disabilities of subgroup A” depending on the degree of violations life activities A child with a disability has a mild or moderate level of health severity and can meet his needs partially independently. Subgroup A includes people with severe health disorders and needing constant care.
And now the time has come for the terrible statistics of mutilated children’s lives.
According to the State Statistics, before the war there were 162,900 children with disabilities in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the number of children with disabilities decreased slightly by 0.43% in 2022 and amounted to 162.2 thousand. However, in 2023, there were 163.9 thousand children with disabilities in Ukraine. In 2024, there is a tendency to increase the number of persons with disabilities by 27,000
War spares no one and inflicts heavy losses every day. Thus, in the first days of the full-scale invasion, 1,420 children were mutilated. In 2023, 989 children suffered injuries and mutilations. As of June 2024, this figure is 1,146 children. All these children have suffered severe mutilation, both physical and mental, and now they have to learn to live in a new way, constantly choosing every movement.
Children, in whom every day of life is a constant intense struggle with their illnesses and pain, have to live in a world of constant stress and fear caused by war. This category of population needs special care and protection from the state. Therefore, paying attention to the needs of children with disabilities, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to adopt a new resolution dated January 19, 2022 “On the approval of the Procedure for the implementation of rehabilitation measures” No. 31, which established a clear direction for the development of the field of comprehensive rehabilitation and provided children with free access to all available rehabilitation centers.
Since the adoption of the resolution, rehabilitation centers have had the opportunity to approve their own rules regarding the provision of services in communal rehabilitation institutions, and families of children with special needs will now be able to directly contact state rehabilitation centers without unnecessary bureaucratic procedures. The development of the field of rehabilitation services for children with disabilities made it possible to bring the organization of rehabilitation services closer to the recipients, and for children with disabilities and their parents, the process of receiving rehabilitation was accelerated and it was possible to see progress in the children’s development in a short time.
Currently, more than 160,000 children with disabilities in Ukraine need help, support and protection. The complex rehabilitation model allows you to focus not only on the physical characteristics of each individual child, but also provides psychological assistance to such children, introduces the latest household habits, helps in socialization and encourages children with disabilities to take their first steps on the way to their own professional preferences. The main activities of modern rehabilitation centers that rehabilitate children with disabilities are:
- overcoming physical and mental disorders
- correction of developmental disorders
- teaching basic household and social skills with the aim of faster socialization
- development of abilities and creation of prerequisites for the integration of children with disabilities into society
As an example of new modern centers for the rehabilitation of children with disabilities during the military conflict, we can cite the Social Services Center “Zherelo”, which operates in Lviv. Recently, a unique playground for children with disabilities was opened in the yard of this center at the expense of American patrons. On this playground, children have the opportunity to forget about their own fears, worries and heartache, which arose in them from a difficult life and the threat of constant shelling from the aggressor. Children with disabilities are distracted from the realities of this cruel and unfair life and easily plunge into the safe world of their fantasies, where they are happy, warm and safe.
The construction of a special playground cost patrons about 60,000 dollars. Speaking before the world community, these benefactors said from the bottom of their hearts:
“We have a personal family foundation, and 99% of what we do, we do it with personal funds. It was in Lviv that a reliable foundation was laid for our cooperation with Ukraine. There are no such parks anywhere in the country yet, but we sincerely hope that that after the victory, special playgrounds for children and the elderly will be the first to be built for the purpose of their rehabilitation and recreation.”
This inclusive park covers more than 1,100 square meters of space for the entertainment of children with disabilities. The site is divided into two corresponding zones. One is for children with musculoskeletal disorders, and the second is for children with autism spectrum disorders. In the park, everything is thought out in detail in order to ensure the safety and availability of entertainment for every child without exception. The park was built thanks to the activities of the founders of the organization “The Bridge of Life” Eddy and his wife Tatiana. The couple came to Ukraine at the beginning of the war and in the summer began to take care of the situation with disabled children and offered to build a special playground for these children. The founders spent almost 4 months observing which entertainment would be most appropriate for children with disabilities and would be more accessible, prioritized and interesting for them. In the park, even such a small thing as a safe distance from the carousel to the crossbars, the load on the swings and the covering was taken into account. And all this is done in order to ensure safe recreation of children with disabilities.
For more than 30 years, the Social Services Center “Zherelo” has been helping children with disabilities and their families not only from the city of Lviv, but also from all over Ukraine. This center was founded by parents of children with disabilities and caring volunteers. Social and rehabilitation services in this center are provided at the expense of the city budget (60%) and partially at the expense of patrons’ contributions. As of now, there are about 136 children with disabilities in the care of “Jerela”, and 100 families with children of various risk groups or with serious developmental disabilities are receiving early intervention. More than 400 children with disabilities receive comprehensive rehabilitation at the center. There are 6 more branches in the districts of Lviv, which are separate branches of the “Zherelo” center, aimed at reaching as many children with disabilities as possible and quickly responding to their needs and providing quality psychological and rehabilitation assistance during the war.
In addition, as reported in the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration, the opening of a modern Center for comprehensive rehabilitation and provision of social services for children with disabilities is also planned in Kyiv. The institution will later start working in the Podilsky district of the capital. The reconstruction of this institution was started in 2021, but after the beginning of the war, all works on the restoration of the building were suspended. They were extended already in May 2022. Part of the equipment worth about UAH 10 million was provided to the Center as charitable aid by Warsaw.
From now on, the institution is able to accommodate more than 180 children with disabilities. Before the reconstruction, only 33 children could be there at the same time. Now the institution is equipped with the latest equipment, thanks to the help of foreign partners and the care of volunteers and ordinary people. Patients with special needs will be able to undergo rehabilitation, socialization, social and labor adaptation and spend their leisure time in this center.
After its reconstruction, the area of the premises of the institution increased 3 times. Special attention was focused on maximum accessibility and barrier-free accessibility for people in wheelchairs, with visual and hearing impairments. Recently, the number of those in need of rehabilitation in the capital has been increasing. 2005 children were diagnosed with disabilities in Kyiv last year. This is 22% more than in 2022. Almost half of them are children with disabilities due to mental and behavioral disorders. The other part is made up of children with disorders of the central nervous system, developmental disorders and chromosomal abnormalities. In addition, the number of children with disabilities who need rehabilitation assistance has already increased to 14,000. Of this number, more than 4,000 children have mental disorders. All these are the devastating consequences of a full-scale invasion.
Although children with disabilities belong to the most vulnerable stratum of society, they are the same children as all others. It is important to create conditions for them so that they feel like full members of society, harmoniously integrate and be an active part of it.
