THE AUTISM UKRAINE PROJECT – David Higgs Founder/Director
How does an autistic person cope and survive when they find themselves trapped in a warzone? Is an autistic person at greater risk of injury or death than a neurotypical person?
These are the questions I began to ask myself in the Spring of 2022, as I watched Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine unfold. It was the greatest human rights abuse in Europe since WWII. On the TV news terrified crowds of screaming and jostling adults and children were fighting to board trains, buses and cars to flee across the border to safety in Poland. It looked like an unfolding apocalypse. I knew I wouldn’t have had a chance.
Over the last few years, as an AuDHD award-winning investigative journalist and filmmaker, I had unexpectedly found myself managing complex-PTSD, hyper-vigilance, hyper-sensitivity coupled with dissociative seizures – the aftershocks of a life of extremes, near death experiences, war zones, major injuries and unrelenting stress.
I couldn’t help the vast majority of those refugees, but I did know what it was like to be autistic. I could feel their horror. I could do something. And so, the Autism Ukraine Project was born.
I learned there are over ½ million autistic people in Ukraine and recent research indicated that – even in peacetime – autistic people are 8-9 times more likely to suffer PTSD than the general population. Russia’s onslaught could precipitate a mental health catastrophe in Ukraine.
Fourteen months later, having made contact with Ukrainian autism activists and leading representative organisations, I had a shortlist of the most extraordinary autistic people doing the impossible to defend their country. I was dazzled by their courage, resilience, compassion and creativity. I knew what I had to do – make their voices heard – to bear witness and produce a people-led report on war from a uniquely autistic perspective.
In June 2024 we set off to drive over 5,000 miles with a vehicle loaded with hundreds of ear defenders, ‘fidget’ and ‘soothe and snuggle’ toys for traumatised children and adults. We drove through Kyiv, Irpin, Pavlograd, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia – recording interviews with these shining stars of the autistic firmament.
Prior to setting off I’d tried to launch a fund-raising appeal to cover some of the mission’s budget. I wrote to every TV station, explaining that I, too, was autistic and outlined the aims of the project – not a single reply. The fund-raise flopped. A last-minute grant from Autism Europe and the generosity of my extraordinary friend and co-driver, David Gaston, saved the day.
On my return, once again, I approached every TV station and production company with 6+ hours of breath-taking footage. Was anyone interested? No response. Was it war-fatigue? Was it autism? Was it me I wondered? Then the brilliant Sir Stephen Fry agreed to introduce our film with his characteristic warm, deep intelligence and the awesome Sir Simon Baron-Cohen has agreed to contribute his voice. There is still more work and more filming to be done. Now I have the strength to carry on and complete this challenge.
