Rider professor advocates for Ukrainians with autism

By Grace Bertrand

WHEN the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014, many civilians were impacted on different fronts. As the war started making headlines in the West in 2022; however, Ukrainians with autism were primarily forgotten by the majority of the public. Rider psychology professor Chrystina Dolyniuk was not one of them.  

As a Ukrainian-American and autism specialist, Dolyniuk has taken initiative to ensure autistic Ukrainian children are not neglected during the war through her rigorous research and hands-on work. 

“Russia has to be accountable for the war crimes that they’re causing when it comes to Ukrainians with autism in particular,” said Dolyniuk. “Some of them don’t have a voice and can’t speak up for themselves, so I think that it’s important for us to advocate on their behalf.” 

In 2011 and 2014, Dolyniuk was awarded two Fulbright Specialist grants to travel to Ukraine to study the support and services Ukrainians with autism are offered. Her work allowed her to help with these Ukrainians’ community integration. When Dolyniuk left Ukraine in 2014, she did not anticipate how drastically the lives of these children would change. 

“We’re talking about people with autism who thrive in routine and structure,” said Dolyniuk. “To be surprised by these things [war] unexpectedly adds a whole new level of preparation when it comes to intervention.” 

Dolyniuk’s determination to help these children is what led her to travel to Poland in the 2024 spring semester to help displaced Ukrainian families and engage with the autistic children’s caregivers. She quickly learned about Poland’s shortage of autism specialists, primarily ones that speak Ukrainian.     Dolyniuk recalled the times when she observed these professionals speaking Russian with Ukrainian families, which she describes as “traumatizing” to the families under their care. 

In January, Dolyniuk wrote an article in the Transmitter that her hope for Ukrainian families with autistic children is that they are “appreciated in their host countries as the genuine informants of their children’s needs.” 

Dolyniuk explained that what she witnessed in Poland was in contrast to that hope. To Dolyniuk, it is imperative for these families to be provided support in their native language. She calls for these families to receive direct support in addition to the shelter, food and housing other families are receiving who are enduring the war.  

As a psychology professor, Dolyniuk feels it is one of her duties to share her passion with her students. She is firm in making sure the trauma of these families is understood by anyone willing to be educated. 

“Professors should not only be teaching what’s in the book, but you need to be able to translate that information into applications that are meaningful for our global community and our local communities,” said Dolyniuk. 

Dolyniuk teaches three courses surrounding disabilities at Rider: disabilities across cultures, autism spectrum disorder and cognitive disabilities. For her, these courses give her the opportunity to be a voice for Ukrainians, especially those with autism. 

Even in her courses outside of these topics, Dolyniuk’s sentiment about Ukrainian-Americans is still evident to her students. 

Jilian Lukasiewicz, junior psychology major, took Dolyniuk’s course of professional development in psychology in 2022, when the Ukrainian invasion came into full force.

“I could always tell that she was really passionate about it [the invasion],” said Lukasiewicz. “I had her around the time of the invasion and she would always wear a Ukrainian flag pin to class.”

Lukasiewicz explained that Dolyniuk’s advocacy about her research and career experiences only added to her teachings. Learning about the work she does with Ukrainians with autism was helpful to students who were simply taking the course to learn about obtaining a career in the psychology field. 

As the three-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches on Feb. 24, Dolyniuk is adamant about making sure people are still willing to learn and help. The way she sees it, displaced Ukrainians, especially those with autism, need to still be on the minds of the Western world just as much as it is for Ukrainians. 

“This war will not end quickly, despite what some people may think,” said Dolyniuk. “It didn’t end three years ago. It’s not going to end in a few days.”