Find a therapist to help with autism

War has a deep emotional effect on children and their families, who live in constant vigilance and fear.

Research has studied the negative effects of war on adult mental health, but less on those with disabilities.

There is an urgent need for targeted interventions to foster resilience in families exposed to war.

Despite the immense challenges of the ongoing Russo‑Ukrainian war, Nataliia Ukrainets’ commitment to providing therapy for her young autistic son, Vladyslav, has never wavered. Since the full‑scale invasion began more than four years ago, she has continued to care for her son while also supporting other families navigating autism amid constant threat and uncertainty.

Two years ago, I wrote in Psychology Today about the profound impact that the war was having on Nataliia’s family. At that time, she described how, to avoid missile strikes, she and her son often sought shelter in the basement of the autism center she had founded in Kyiv with other parents of autistic children. Together with a small group of therapists, she provided therapy to several autistic children while also coaching parents. Frequently, sessions took place without electricity or heat after Russian missile attacks destroyed the building’s energy infrastructure. To keep the children warm and engaged, therapists relied on active games and movement-based activities.

Recently, I reached out to Nataliia again to learn how she and her son are doing now. The continued impact of the war is unmistakable in how she describes her daily life, which is marked by fear, vigilance, and persistent worry.

“The war affects everyone very deeply—emotionally, first and foremost,” she wrote in an email. “Constant shelling disrupts or interrupts children’s development. Parents are constantly exhausted.”

The autism center she founded to support other families was severely damaged during a recent Russian attack. Nataliia explained that repeated vibrations from intercepted missiles and drones caused one wall of the building to begin to crumble. In the evenings, after her son is asleep, she returns to the center to repair the damage herself. She fears that the space she worked so hard to build may be destroyed by a direct hit. She is also afraid of losing her own life and the lives of her family members, especially during the night when Vlad is sleeping. Several of her close friends have already been lost to the war. “There are so many fears,” she wrote. “We are learning to live with them.”

Nataliia’s experience mirrors what researchers are now documenting. A recent scoping review of 27 studies examined the impact of the Russo‑Ukrainian war on mental health (Fornaro et al., 2025). The authors found that civilians and people in helping professions, such as psychologists and physicians, frequently experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, post‑traumatic stress, insomnia, and burnout due to constant exposure to war-related stressors, including the sound of bombings. Higher symptom levels were associated with female gender, living in urban areas, having children in the household, and residing in regions occupied by Russian forces. The authors also highlighted significant gaps in the literature, particularly regarding the impact of war on special populations such as children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Very few studies have documented how children with disabilities and their families are affected by war.

Other reviews similarly note that war not only disrupts individual children’s ability to learn but also strains family relationships and places enormous pressure on caregivers (Aloka et al., 2025). These authors emphasize the urgent need for targeted interventions to foster resilience in both children and their families. A recent feature in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health further underscored this concern, noting that during the war in Ukraine, most children rely almost exclusively on their parents for emotional support, a burden that weighs heavily on families already under extraordinary stress.

Against this backdrop, Nataliia finds encouragement in her son’s progress. Vlad has just completed first grade, and she is pleased with how he is doing. In therapy, he is working on regulating his emotions and expanding his verbal expression and comprehension. He can become overwhelmed in social situations and often seeks time alone. Through experience, Nataliia has learned that giving him space to rest by himself is the most effective way to help him manage intense feelings. These are common challenges and skills that many first graders are still learning.

Find a therapist to help with autism

For Vlad, autism combined with the chronic stress of living in a war zone likely compounds his difficulty regulating emotions. Research shows that younger children, in particular, are vulnerable to emotional lability and difficulty down‑regulating distress after prolonged exposure to war. Nataliia’s sensitive approach, involving recognizing the triggers that overwhelm her son, such as stressful social situations, and supporting coping strategies like brief periods of solitude, reflects caregiving practices shown to promote better emotion regulation in both autistic and war‑exposed children (Feldman et al., 2013).

Nataliia continues to look toward the future. She has founded a non‑governmental organization dedicated to expanding access to early developmental services for children with autism across Ukraine. Her goal is to reduce the cost of child therapy or provide therapy free of charge, while also coaching and supporting parents. She emphasizes her commitment to serving, “without exception, children of combat veterans, both living and fallen, internally displaced persons from territories with active combat operations, and those from frontline areas.”

Nataliia’s perseverance is both inspiring and sobering. Her efforts will undoubtedly help many autistic children and their families. At the same time, her story suggests that caring for others and building something meaningful in the midst of loss may itself be a source of resilience, for her as much as for the children and families she serves.

Fornaro, M., Ricci, C., Zotti, N., Caiazza, C., Viacava, L., Rubinshtain Tal, A., Calati, R., Gonda, X., Szabo, G., De Prisco, M., Oliva, V., Fico, G., Solmi, M., Vieta, E., Carvalho, A. F., Primavera, D., Carta, M. G., & de Bartolomeis, A. (2025). Mental health during the 2022 Russo‑Ukrainian War: A scoping review and unmet needs. Journal of Affective Disorders, 373, 12–27.

Holt, E. (2026). The war in Ukraine: Mental health toll on children and adolescents. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 10(5), 305–306.

Aloka, P. J. O., Ajayi, O., Zindoga, L., & Mnyamana, N. (2025). Psychosocial impact of war on the social and emotional development of young learners: An integrative review of literature.Perspectives in Education, 43(2), 5–19.

Feldman, R., Vengrober, A., Eidelman‑Rothman, M., & Zagoory‑Sharon, O. (2013).Stress reactivity in war‑exposed young children with and without posttraumatic stress disorder: Relations to maternal stress hormones, parenting, and child emotionality and regulation.Development and Psychopathology, 25(4, Pt. 1), 943–955.

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