After a decade of substantial advancement and investment in inclusive education in Ukraine, funding drastically diminished when Russia invaded in 2022.
Ukrainian schools now have a dramatic shortage of experts, as many teachers have fled the country or remain under occupation. Inclusivity-related projects have been understandably placed on hold, sadly reversing the progress made.
Even though many cities still have accessible public transport, drivers often refuse to let people with disabilities on buses or trains, and many school bomb shelters are not adapted to the needs of children with disabilities. All of this limits the inclusion of their needs and prevents them from being on an equal footing with other students.
Of course, not all Ukrainian schools are able to operate safely in-person. 576 educational institutions were destroyed or damaged by bombing in 2024 alone, and over 600,000 students are now learning online and at home. While this reduces access to education for all children, due to electricity and internet access availability issues, those with special needs are particularly impacted.
For instance, tactile and kinaesthetic interactions are very important for children with visual impairments, and these are simply not possible in online learning.
Ukrainian students without special educational needs are likely about a year and a half behind other Europeans in maths and science because of the war, and almost 2 ½ years behind in literacy. SEND children fair even worse.
Many educators have left the country or moved to other regions to escape the war, and so many children have been left without professional assistance. Children with special needs already have difficulties due to their specific conditions, but war and psychological trauma impose additional challenges. It is impossible to determine exactly how critical these consequences will be for children’s mental health.
Your support is helping fund ACET Ukraine’s ‘Teens and Joy’ project which has provided hundreds of young people with individual and group counselling sessions to assist them in navigating the difficulties associated with a wartime environment.
Teenager Daryna has a speech impairment. The village where she lives with her mother was one of the first under Russian occupation. She observed cruel treatment of local residents by Russian soldiers and later witnessed the brutal fighting that liberated her village.
Traumatised, Daryna stopped talking altogether and became afraid of any loud sound, constantly hiding under the bed and the table. Eventually, she could not leave the house at all.
Her mother turned to the ACET Ukraine team for help. Our psychologist worked with Daryna and her mother for several months - and now Daryna is able to talk again.
