Impossible

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

If you had told me two years ago, when I was graduating with my doctorate in occupational therapy, that in just two years I would be advocating for my profession in a foreign country where it doesn't exist - I would have looked you straight in the eye and said, "That's Impossible."

But yesterday, on a dreary Ukrainian morning, the age-old saying "Never Say Never" became a reality.  Invited by Dr. Bashek, the head doctor of Zhitomir's pediatric network and a well-respected medical figure in all of Ukraine, I was asked to speak to a group of leading pediatric neurologists in the region about Occupational Therapy.  There I was - standing in front of more than 60 of the top pediatric neurologists in the Zhitomir region, speaking on behalf of the Occupational Therapy profession and sharing how it can make a difference in the lives of the children with disabilities that they treat.  I also seized the opportunity to advertise for Mission to Ukraine's services and share about their heart for this work.  What an honor and privilege it was to have this opportunity!

In OT school we are taught that every human being - regardless of level of disability - deserves to live a life of individuality and dignity.  We are taught that by promoting and preserving their ability to participate in life's meaningful activities we can also preserve their human connection to the world.  This is what I wanted to nail into the hearts of these doctors.  And, hopefully, my presentation laid the foundation for change yet to come in the lives of Ukraine's children with disabilities.

Sometimes I have to stop and count the steps from where I am to where I started.  Two years ago, when I embarked upon my new career as an Occupational Therapist, I had no idea that I would be led to the country of Ukraine.  I had no idea that I would be working internationally to support organizations like Mission to Ukraine around the world....or that I would be living my dream of forging a future of equality and acceptance for children with disabilities on an international scale.  Yet, each step along the way has brought me to the place that I am now.  And as I look back at the footsteps of my past I become even more determined to keep moving forward, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Little Words

"...but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living."

Helen Keller

"Mmmmm - MMMMMmmmmmm MMMMmmmmmmm".  The faint sound of tuneless humming was all I could hear as I walked down the hallway to the office of Yuliya, Mission to Ukraine's leader in augmentative communication services.  "MMmmmmm - MMMMmmmmmmmm".  As I pushed open the door I was met by a bright-eyed boy named Misha who was excitedly flapping his hands and humming to his own mysterious and dissonant tune.  "Misha, we are going try something new", Yuliya said as he sat down at the desk.  Misha watched with anticipation as Yuliya brought out a  new device - something he had never seen before.  

Several weeks ago, Mission to Ukraine received a gracious donation to our department: an iPad 2 that could be used for therapeutic gains, namely for use as a communication device for children with communication difficulties.  With the help of a new application called GoTalk, the iPad transforms into a personalized interface with which children with disabilities can use to communicate with others.  Now, at the touch of a button, children - including those with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, developmental conditions, and profound mental disabilities - are able to communicate their thoughts, their desires, their pains, and their joys. 

Misha is one of our special children with Autism - a lifelong developmental disorder that affects the brain, specifically those areas that control social behaviors and communication skills.  While some children have mild forms of Autism, others like Misha live with severe autistic complications, including the complete inability to use spoken language.       But even though these children cannot speak, they are more clever than you think and are fully capable of contributing to their world if given the right tools.  Words have always eluded Misha, leaving him voiceless, with no way to communicate meaningfully with the world around him....until now.

As Misha's therapy session progressed with the use of the iPad 2, Misha's world seemed to open up before him.  He used the iPad to learn the names of different animals.  He used it to indicate to Yuliya that he wanted to blow bubbles, to play ball, and to take a break from work.  He used it to choose which toy he wanted to play with next.  Purpose and meaning were finally at his fingertips.   

I think one of the most universal human desires is to be understood.  We all strive for different ways to communicate with those around us - we all search for ways to connect with another.  And, finally, with the use of this new and exciting technology, we are able to communicate and connect with children just like Misha who have suffered in silence due to a disability that locks their lips and twists their tongues.  For the first time, their voices are being heard - and oh what a beautiful sound it is!

Spring Breeze

"What a life I lead in the winded breeze
What a life I lead in the spring"
Fleet Foxes, Sun Giant

A fundamental lesson I have learned during my time with Mission to Ukraine is that Ukrainians love to celebrate.  Yesterday, MTU put on a beautiful Spring Celebration for our young children with disabilities.  Just as the Spring breeze refreshes and restores the earth after a long cold winter, so did the laughter and the smiles fill the room with the energy and spirit of Spring.

 

Dangerous

"Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow.
If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living."
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

In a society that is just beginning to emerge from the broken rubble that the Soviet legacy left behind, people with disabilities and their families living in Ukraine continue to live with the aftermath of this dark regime.  Instead of integrating children into society, many continue to employ a policy of "defectology," a leftover Soviet discipline in which children with disabilities and their families are socially marginalized from civil society.  

The fact is: In Ukraine, the realities of having a child with a disability are heart-breaking.  Husbands leave.  Families are broken.  Survival becomes a daily struggle.  At the urging from their own doctors and family members, many mothers who give birth to a child with a disability are often shamed into abandoning their children to institutions just like Romaniv.  Some new mothers are even encouraged by the doctors to "accidentally" drop their disabled baby on their head so that they would not have the hope of surviving.

But in the city of Zhitomir - in the heart of Ukraine - there is a small army of mothers who refused to succumb to such harsh and brutal acts.  They each made the decision to raise their children at home, no matter what the difficulties and hardship they might endure.

Now, as these children are growing older and becoming adults, Mission to Ukraine has stepped up to do the unthinkable - equip these special people with the skills they need to be successful adults.  Never before have these young adults with special needs been supported in this way.  How do you wash your hands properly?  What are table manners?  How to do you make friends?  What do you do if there is a fire or emergency?  What is sexual abuse and how do you protect yourself from it?  These are all critical topics and skills that every adult must know to become visible, thriving members of the community.  Embarking upon this revolutionary concept, MTU is cutting dangerously deep into the very heart of Ukraine's "defectology" by empowering the vulnerable and giving a voice to oppressed.

Sometimes I look at the faces of these young adults, and I can't help but see myself in them.  I see my own heart in their desire to feel loved, productive, and useful.  And isn't that true for all of humanity?  Don't we all have an inner hunger to be valued?  I am not motivated by guilt or pity, but by our similarities.  And it is in this motivation - this potent force within my own human heart - to be a threat to those who oppress these individuals simply because they are different.  I cannot do anything but be dangerous, with the ultimate goal of forging a future for those who have none.