For some, it may be just a routine doctor’s visit. But for a child with ASD, a new environment, bright lights, unfamiliar people, sounds, smells, waiting, or the need to follow unfamiliar instructions can be a serious challenge.

At the Volyn Regional Territorial Mother and Child Health Care Center, the personnel are well aware of how important it is to take these particularities into account. It is the only state-run facility in the Volyn region that provides specialized psychiatric care to children and adolescents. In January 2025, the facility opened a Mental Health Center for Children, where approximately 3,000 patients receive care each year. Among them are about 500 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

That is why developing the team’s competencies in working with children with ASD has become one of the facility’s key priorities.

When working with children with ASD, healthcare professionals may encounter a wide variety of situations. One child refuses to sit in a chair. Another avoids any contact. A third begins to cry as soon as they enter the room.

At first glance, this may seem like a refusal to cooperate. But there may be entirely different reasons behind such behavior: sensory overload, anxiety, fear, a lack of understanding of what is happening, or an attempt to avoid an unpleasant stimulus.

For a specialist, understanding these mechanisms means being able to change the interaction process itself: slow down the pace, explain the sequence of actions differently, adapt the environment, and give the child time to adjust.

“It has become important for us not simply to try to ‘fit’ the child into a standard format of medical care, but to learn to adapt the format itself to the child’s needs,” explain representatives of the Mental Health Center.

It was precisely this need that sparked the systematic strengthening of the team.

The next step will be to set up a sensory room, the equipment for which is also supported by ZDOROVI.

This creates not just a standalone service for children with ASD, but an entire system in which the space, specialists, treatment methods, and interaction with the family all work together.

The true value of this approach is best seen not in a list of services, but in the experiences of families.

Hanna M. is raising two sons with ASD, ages 14 and 11. Her family turned to the Mental Health Center after a period marked by developmental challenges, cyberbullying, signs of depression, self-harm, stress from moving, and changes in the children’s behavior.

At first, one of her sons began working with a clinical psychologist. Later, the other son was also brought to the Center.

“It was the support and understanding of the center’s specialists that helped not only our children but our entire family feel supported and breathe deeply once again, with the confidence that ‘everything will be okay,’” says the mother.

According to her, during their time working with the specialists, the children have come to better understand their own unique traits and manage their emotional states. Self-harm has decreased, their sensory skills and body control have improved, and it has become easier for them to organize their studies and personal time, perform hygiene routines, and communicate with adults.

The mother also notes changes that occurred after the center’s specialists introduced a new training program: the children began to express their thoughts differently and show more initiative.

“When the children leave the center happy, motivated, and confident in themselves — and call the center ‘a second home’ — we, as parents, are reminded every time of how it all began,” says Hanna.

The story of the Volyn Center illustrates why developing the professional competencies of healthcare providers is a vital part of supporting healthcare facilities.

Training doesn’t change the situation overnight. But it lays the groundwork for systemic change: specialists gain new knowledge and practical tools, the facility gains additional expertise within its team, and patients have more opportunities to receive care tailored to their needs.

This is especially important for children with ASD. After all, the quality of care begins not only with equipment or a treatment room. It begins with a specialist who knows how to see a need behind behavior, an opportunity for growth behind challenges, and a specific child behind a diagnosis.

That is why ZDOROVI supports not only the material needs of medical facilities but also the professional development of the people who work with patients every day. Because when the team grows stronger, so does the facility itself. And as a result, more children and their families can receive the help they need.

The project is implemented with the support of GlobalGiving.