There is contact

A few months ago, the St. Petersburg Center for children with autistic spectrum disorders was at risk of closing, but it managed to save it, however, only half. To understand how this happened, “such things” decided to look at the situation with their own eyes

On the embankment of the Obvodny Canal among the endless flow of cars, five buildings of elementary school - kindergarten No. 687 of the “Center for Rehabilitation of the Child” were located next to the psychiatric hospital and the Krestovozda Cossack Cathedral. Each of them is surrounded by a comfortable territory, but the buildings themselves are in a deplorable state: large cracks go on the facade right from the foundation, the walls areoling, a balcony on one of them with beacons, which means that it may be about to collapse.

The structure of the Center, opened in 1992, is extremely simple: a kindergarten and an elementary school for children with autistic spectrum disorders, as well as for children with severe speech disorders and mental retardation. The leadership of the Center believes that each child needs his own unique approach and his own technique: “The main thing is love and care, because these children need this.”

The teacher of kindergarten No. 687 Olga Viktorovna helps to dress Mile and Sasha after a quiet hour photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

As a result of observation in the first month, a general idea of ​​the child is drawn up by specialists: speech therapist, pediatrician, psychiatrist, defectologist, social worker, psychologist and teachers. But they do not stop there: consultations are collected every week to discuss the situation with each child, an individual program is being developed and changes.

The main thing is love and care, because these children need this

Director Larisa Nikolaevna Demyanchuk - Honored Teacher of Russia, has three higher education only in the pedagogical sphere, a former official who decided that working with special children is much more important than bureaucratic work. Five years ago, after the change of management of the district, the money for the repair of the school buildings ceased to be allocated. There were enough funding for children, but for everything else - no. As a result, the buildings need overhaul or demolition in general, and the center has an endless war with fire supervision, because there was an emergency situation, and there is no funds.

Mila and her teacher Olga Viktorovna in the bathroom photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

After the next oral decision of the district administration, teachers have caught an alarm. I must say that a third of the entire pedagogical staff is the mothers of special children who have changed their career as engineers, musicians, artists and shipbuilders to work in the center. Officials of the district did not accept them when they wanted to know what would happen next, but they were listened to and tried to understand the city education committee. After discussing and clarifying the situation, the center saved the center, but only half. Kindergarten for children with autistic spectrum disorders moves along with a school, which has turned from initial to middle, to a new place on Vasilievsky Island, and the center becomes regional. But gardens for children with mental retardation and severe speech impairments remain in the same place in emergency buildings, and their fate is unknown even to Larisa Demyanchuk.

Director of the Center Larisa Nikolaevna in a psychological unloading room for schoolchildren photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

This whole situation does not leave indifferent not only the leadership of the center, but also those who work in it. They all root for their job, and the current situation is described as follows: “We came here at the call of the heart, literally receiving a penny: eight thousand, 15 thousand, a janitor - five thousand. Have you seen what territory we have? Licked! People work altruistically. I don’t even know what to live on! And they work from morning to evening, if necessary, they will remain late. The buildings from the inside are all well -groomed, the floors are varnished, painted, everything is created for children: interactive, musical centers, instruments. How much every room for children is decorated with love. There is a relaxation room, a child can come there at a break, or his tutor will lead if the educational process is emotionally heavy to him, they will sit together in silence, and the child calms down. We look who reacts to what, who is interested, and give it to the child. One is strong in mathematics, the other in music, the third - perfectly draws. Therefore, we win in city competitions among ordinary children. And such a technique does not give an effect due to victories in competitions, but because the children change and trust us. ”

By the time of our visit, the elementary school was closed: the school year ended a couple of days ago. But the traces of the presence of the children remained, despite the cleaned musical instruments and methodological manuals, the objects of art therapy stood on the tables, and the crafts of these guys were no different from the work of ordinary children. But in the kindergarten, the academic year has not yet been completed.

Sasha plays with the orphanage photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

In fact, it often happens that, having heard about a child with autistic spectrum disorders, we do not imagine his socialization, but in kindergarten we see a completely different picture: children make contact and do not fall every minute on the floor and do not hit hysteria.

Svetlana Vasilievna, one of the educators, says that the most important and happy in such work is to see how the child changes. “Andryusha Sukhotin, when he only came to us, could not sit at the table, sat on a chair all the time and looked at the wall. Two months later, he first turned and began to observe other children, at first ate a roll, now eats the broth. He tries to interact with other children, although he plays more than one, and his terrible attacks, when he shouted endlessly, passed. Now learning to speak, no longer repels. ”

Nikita on the kindergarten playground during a walk. This year Nikita will go to the first grade of school No. 687 photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

Irina, an assistant teacher, tells about another boy - Yegor, he is also six years old. “He has an older brother, he is in the first or second grade, and Egor listens and repeats after him. Therefore, he can talk about fifteen in English for about fifteen. He loves to play the Teremok: he will spread the characters and pronounce the whole fairy tale from and to. It once says to me: "Sit with me, mother!"

The most important and happy in such work is to see how the child changes

And then both vying of the graduates: “We always look at what the child has lost over the summer and what we acquired. We study it from scratch every time. Everyone has different diagnoses, and we need a different approach. Here Maxim could just take and fall like a knees, not even bending his knees, and then extended his hand: raise me, they say. Or looked into his eyes, sitting at dinner: "Feed." From screams, he closed, played alone, not paying attention to the bedhors around. We all the time ask our parents to see how to do any ordinary things. Children, however, understand that they can do something ourselves, and we praise them for it. The best thing we managed to prove to the children that they are well done and everything can.

Plato (five years) in physical education does an exercise for the feet. For nine months of stay in kindergarten No. 687, Plato's concentration improved, he began to respond to his name photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

We had such a Lida, lived in a communal apartment. Once, a neighbor threw a piece of soap in borsch, she perceived herself as a boy and cursed like a shoemaker. He says to me: "You are scolding me, but I have a solemnly spit on you." Iraids, our defectologist, had a gold watch, she pulled them all the time, and she was scolded, saying that her mother, if Lida suddenly breaks them, could not pay, to which the girl answered her: “Where did you get so much dough?” It’s fun with them. You get used to children, love them, how do you get away from them? "

Olga Viktorovna works in another group, she first studied with ordinary children, in 1995 she came to work in the center, and came to children with mental retardation. When she began to wake up in the middle of the night with the thought of how to teach children to be sophisticated and subtract, because they do not understand abstract thinking, she could no longer: “For example, you ask the boy a question about the addition:“ One plus one ”, but he cannot understand what they want from him, but you show one book, the second and ask:“ How many are there? ” - And he immediately understands and answers: "Two books." Therefore, she went to Larisa Nikolaevna and said that they would either be transferred or fired. Since then, Olga Viktorovna has been working in a kindergarten group with children with autistic spectrum disorders.

Plato after a afternoon snack in the children's room of his group. Unlike many children, Plato is indifferent to cartoons, but can not break away from the TV if music is played there photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

“We had Grisha, mom and dad in front of him on his knees stood with sweets. We explained to them, explained that this is impossible, in the end, six months later the child dresses the first for a walk. Children generally come to us, not knowing anything, because parents are ready to do anything for them. Such love destroys the child in pedagogically, because he understands that they are ready to do everything for him, and there is no need to try. Therefore, you have to work with parents almost more than with children. But every child needs his own approach, because they are all completely different!

Here is the seven -year -old Mila, when she only appeared, she had huge problems of a behavioral nature. Almost so, she went to the floor, shook and screamed so that her ears were laid. Now she doesn’t do that, she only has rare breakdowns. She has classic symptoms of an autistic spectrum: for example, she has her own ritual for everything. When she comes to the kindergarten, he first undresses, then says goodbye to her parents, then he goes to the toilet to wash his hands in a certain shell and only then enters the group. And if dad comes to pick her up, but she does something, then it is not possible to tear her away from this, since we get a hysteria as a result.

Kindergarten pupil No. 687 with a toy bird photo: Ksenia Ivanova for TD

Sasha, he was five, at first he didn’t talk at all, all his parents did for him too. He needed the food to be almost with a freezing temperature, now he eats warm. He began to contact adults, says a few words: “hot”, “painful”, “goodbye” and “thank you”. “Thank you” generally taught to say gesturing: showing each syllable with his mouth, as a result, he now says by the syllables: “Spas-si”. Put a fork, puts a plate, looks at you and says quietly: "Spas-si-bo." He does not go to school yet, he generally wants to be more often than one, he tips on, although we are trying to retrain, and other autistic symptoms such as shaking are still there, but we are working on it.

There were even children who went to a mass school or lyceum. That is, from a complex defect, they were first transferred to a group of mental retardation, and from there to a mass school. We all try to make it like this, but it doesn’t always work out, although there is always progress. Children need to say everything several times or sit over him for hours, but then you can look at them, how they do something on their own and do it well. This is happiness. ”