How did Inna Sergiyenko use conferences, partnerships, and evidence-based training to expand autism inclusion and lifelong support across Ukraine?
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen and Ira Sergiyenko (Translation, Ukrainian-English)
Inna Sergiyenko is a Ukrainian autism advocate, educator, and founder connected with Child with Future, a Kyiv-based initiative supporting children with developmental disabilities and their families. Motivated by her son’s autism diagnosis in Israel, she helped establish a preschool model integrating education, developmental services, and specialist support in one setting. Her work expanded into broader advocacy for autism awareness, disability rights, parent support, and improved professional training and service coordination across Ukraine over many years.
In this interview, Scott Douglas Jacobsen speaks with Inna Sergiyenko about building a national autism movement in Ukraine through lectures, conferences, partnerships, and evolving educational support. Inna Sergiyenko explains how international knowledge, local parent organizations, online outreach, and evidence-based training strengthened services for autistic children, teenagers, and adults. She also discusses inclusion, accessibility, university support, and why preparation is essential before autistic students enter mainstream classrooms with confidence and meaningful long-term success.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: As your work expanded, how did you begin building a broader national movement, and what role did international conferences and public lectures play in that process?
Inna Sergiyenko: At that time, we were in the process of building a broader movement. We began attending international conferences to gain knowledge and experience that were not yet available in Ukraine, and we brought that knowledge back to support families and professionals.
Around 2013, I started traveling across Ukraine to deliver lectures on autism. These lectures helped raise awareness and share practical knowledge with parents, educators, and specialists.
Among the most influential events were conferences organized by Autism Europe, which provided valuable insights for both parents and practitioners, and INSAR, which is a more research-focused, science-driven conference based primarily in the United States.
Together, these conferences offered a balance between practical, community-oriented knowledge and scientific research. This combination allowed us to bring both evidence-based practices and accessible support strategies back to Ukraine.
As we expanded our work, we also helped parents establish local organizations in different regions. These groups often collaborated with us, relied on shared knowledge, and contributed to building a unified national movement around autism advocacy.
In 2019, when it became more difficult to travel and hold in-person lectures, we shifted to online platforms. At that time, many people in Ukraine were active on Facebook, so we organized educational livestreams to continue outreach and training.
We invited international speakers to participate. One of them was Bill Peters, an autistic American who volunteered with us and shared his lived experience. At that time, there were very few openly autistic adults in Ukraine who were both diagnosed and willing to speak publicly, so his contribution was particularly valuable.
We also hosted Stephen Shore, an autistic professor at Adelphi University in the United States, known internationally for his work in special education and autism advocacy. His participation provided both professional and personal perspectives that were highly impactful.
Regarding the Markovich family, they remain involved in supporting the organization. The institution now has a director responsible for its daily operations, while ongoing efforts focus on maintaining sponsorships and partnerships that help reduce costs for families and sustain access to services.
Jacobsen: How have your partnerships, sponsors, and institutional allies helped sustain the preschool and broaden your work on inclusion and accessibility?
Sergiyenko: They also help us find sponsors. As we noted earlier, maintaining a high standard of services in our preschool makes it expensive, and not all parents can afford the full cost.
With the support of Inna and Yonattan Markovich, we are able to secure sponsorships that make the program more accessible to families. The preschool is financially self-sustaining in the sense that it does not generate profit and is supported through tuition and donor contributions rather than external investment.
Dr. Genevieve Bassey, who played an important role in the early development of the preschool, helped us structure and organize our programs. The Markovich family was also instrumental in securing the building. Without their involvement, it would have been difficult to obtain the facility.
We also collaborate with a number of partners working in inclusion and accessibility. One notable collaboration was with Marina Poroshenko, who, during her time as First Lady, actively promoted inclusive education. We worked alongside her initiatives to support schools, provide training, and expand understanding of how to work with children with special educational needs.
Inclusion is a broad and complex area, and our work has included advocacy, public education, and direct training for educators and institutions. With the current First Lady, the focus has shifted somewhat toward broader accessibility issues. Where relevant, we continue to provide expertise and guidance.
Our work has also expanded beyond children. We now address the needs of autistic adults, both in our educational programs and in our outreach. Our lectures and training initiatives increasingly include topics related to adulthood, independence, and social integration.
For example, we have participated in training programs for service sectors such as banking, where multiple experts present on different types of disabilities. In these settings, we contribute by explaining the experiences of autistic adults and offering practical recommendations on how institutions can make their services more accessible.
Jacobsen: How has your work evolved as autistic children grow older, particularly in terms of socialization, adolescence, university support, and the need for reliable public information?
Sergiyenko: We also developed a project for schoolchildren and teenagers called Kids Autism Games. It began as an initiative focused on socialization through sports, but it has since expanded beyond that.
As children grow older, particularly after the age of ten, their need for social interaction becomes more complex. We created this project to provide structured social activities through sports, which offer a predictable and supportive environment for autistic children and teenagers.
Over time, the project grew to include not only sports events but also broader social activities. We partnered with various organizations to support these initiatives. While I do not recall all the partner names at the moment, I can provide them later.
Before the war, the project also included additional programs such as IT classes, where participants learned computer skills, and music classes. Due to the war, some of these activities were suspended. However, the sports component continues. Our participants still attend regular events and take part in activities such as marathons, which they participated in before the war and have now resumed.
As our participants grow older, we are expanding our services to meet their changing needs. Initially, our focus was on early intervention and young children, as that was where the greatest demand existed. However, those children are now becoming teenagers and young adults.
We are now working to ensure that autistic individuals receive support at all stages of life. In particular, we are focusing on higher education. As more autistic students reach university age, we are exploring ways to collaborate with Ukrainian universities to provide appropriate support systems.
My goal is to ensure that autistic students in Ukraine can receive support comparable to what is available in institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, where my son studies.
Another challenge we now face is the shift from a lack of information to an overabundance of it. When we began, there was very little reliable information about autism in Ukraine. Today, there is a large amount of information available, but not all of it is accurate.
We continue to focus on providing evidence-based information and guidance to families. Even during the war, we organized an online conference to share knowledge and support. The materials were recorded and made freely available on YouTube so that parents who have recently received a diagnosis can access reliable information.
Jacobsen: How have conferences and your broader educational work shaped your approach to inclusion, especially your view that autistic children need preparation before entering mainstream classrooms?
Sergiyenko: Conferences have become an important part of our work. Initially, we organized small, focused conferences in Ukraine, often centered on specific methods or approaches, where specialists and parents could learn practical skills.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, we held our first major international event, the International Practical Autism Conference (IPAC). We invited specialists from different countries, and the conference was highly successful.
During the pandemic and later during the war, we continued this work by organizing two additional IPAC conferences online. These allowed us to maintain knowledge-sharing and professional development despite the circumstances.
We are now exploring the possibility of returning to in-person conferences. Due to safety concerns, we are considering hosting the next IPAC in a neighboring country, such as Hungary or Czechia.
Another important issue we have encountered relates to inclusion. While inclusion in mainstream education is essential, it must be implemented carefully. Not every child is immediately ready to enter an inclusive classroom, particularly children with autism who may face challenges with sensory processing, communication, and social interaction.
Preparation is critical. Children need to understand classroom routines, expectations, and social dynamics in order to benefit from an inclusive environment. Without this preparation, inclusion can become stressful and counterproductive.
We have observed that some professionals and parents advocate for immediate inclusion without sufficient preparation. In such cases, children may struggle significantly, leading to distress, behavioral challenges, and regression rather than progress.
At our preschool, we aim to prepare children step by step. We focus on building the skills they need, and once we see that a child is ready, we encourage parents to transition them into mainstream kindergarten or school. The goal is not to keep children in specialized settings longer than necessary, but to support them until they can succeed in a broader educational environment.
Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Inna.
