How an American with autism helps Ukrainian children cope with the challenges of this disease

American Bill Peters in 8 years learned that he has autism. Now Bill 37, he is fully adapted to social life. Two years ago, Peters came to Ukraine and began counseling parents of children with autism.

Photo: Facebook / Bill Peters

Bill Peters realized as a child that “something was wrong” with him. At two years old he did not speak, was a withdrawn child and did not make contact with others. It was difficult to lure him with ordinary children's games.

The pediatrician suspected that something was wrong with the boy. When the mother was told that the child had autism, she took this news calmly, began to read a lot of medical literature and study her son’s peculiarity. It seemed that she had studied everything and was ready for anything, but did not expect the negative reaction of others to her son’s diagnosis. The guy was called “strange”, and the adults did not allow other children to play with him.

Despite this, Bill grew up an ordinary child: he celebrated children's birthdays with friends, played with everyone on the court, went shopping with his mother, and worked a lot with teachers, doctors and psychologists. Hard work bore fruit, and in 4 of the year Bill spoke.

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When he was 8 years old, he learned from his mother and specialists that he had autism. “They told me a lot of things, and I thought: this is nonsense. And only six months later I realized that this still makes sense,” recalls Bill.

The boy studied at an ordinary school, but in a special class. Mom managed to get him to study some subjects with all the children. Communication with peers has benefited. He graduated from school, but a new test was the search for work.

“Employers said they could give someone like me something light for a few hours a day. They didn't want to take risks. But I’m smart and can work more. However, no one cared,” recalls Bill.

Now he has 37, he is fully adapted to social life. The man has become an ambassador for people with autism around the world.

Photo: Facebook / Bill Peters

Two years ago Bill came to Ukraine for the first time. “I like Kyiv. The city is not very big. I feel super comfortable here,” he noted.

The man began counseling parents with autistic children.

“My parents saw that I could do it. People took photos, made videos and posted it on Facebook. My father once said, “You’re so good at it!” You know, he's never said that before. That’s when I decided that this was for me,” Bill concluded.

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He says that autistic people have a certain connection with each other. “I can read their body language. This sounds strange to anyone who is not autistic. It's funny, but I can feel through the air how they feel. If my life had been different, perhaps I would have become a teacher, administrator or social worker in America, rather than teaching and working in Ukraine. Although I like this better,” Bill said frankly.

Photo: Facebook / Bill Peters

He is not alone. He has a girlfriend Alona, ​​she is Ukrainian. She is also an adapted autist. They met in America, where the girl came to visit relatives. We met, but the relationship did not start immediately. Alona does not know English, but this does not prevent them from communicating and making plans.

Photo: Facebook / Bill Peters

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