My story

Site

I am Sofiia Stasevska, a correctional psychologist and a specialist in applied behavior analysis. Before the war, in Kharkiv, I ran two of my own children’s rehabilitation centers for children with developmental disorders. We worked with children, who had various mental health disorders: autism, behavioral disorders, speech disorders.

The “Lado” Center had been operating successfully for more than 10 years. The “Zadzerkallia” Center was 7 years younger (3 years old). By the outbreak of war, about 130 children had been visiting our centers. Parents even brought their children to us from abroad. Also, we had the only full-fledged correctional kindergarten for children with autism in Kharkiv.

For now, the centers I had created with love and inspiration are lost. At the beginning of the war, I and 4 of my specialists left for Lviv and, almost from the first days, we started conducting classes with children of refugees for free.

I found a center in Lviv, similar to ours, and agreed to rent offices. I also raised $ 1,500 with the help of volunteers and donors so that children of refugees could attend classes, the specialists could receive salaries and we would be able to pay rent. In such a way we have been working for a month already.

Currently, there are many children and there are not enough offices, so I decided to open my own center in Lviv. But it is very difficult to start from scratch in an unfamiliar city. We do not have enough materials, children’s furniture and didactic materials to work in full capacity.

Realizing the social significance of our work, I am ready to receive assistance on any terms to provide psychological support to both children with developmental disorders and ordinary children.

Thank you very much.