English: Children

This page is about Anton Haritonov. He has autism. The simplest things even a ten-year-old can do, Anton must struggle with. He lives with his mother Rinata on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, in a cramped apartment on Bukarestkaya Street.

Last year Seance stumbled across a story called “People” on the internet, written by Anton when he was fourteen years old. This text became our guide in the world of autism (we are publishing “Letters with Onegi” by Marie Berkovich, filming a documentary called “Out”, and preparing for a children-with-autism art exhibit at the gallery “Etazhi”).

Anton is 21 years old right now. When we met him, he was no longer writing. A month and a half after we met him, his mother, Rinata Haritonova, was diagnosed with leukemia. Anton has no other relatives who could take care of him. During our trip to a summer camp for autistic children in Onege, Anton started to remember letters and words. He is currently in our combined care.

After his return from camp, a volunteer was constantly working with him. He has started to write again. At first it was just letters in the sand, then names, and now he is writing full sentences. He is clearly progressing.

Rinata needs immediate surgery for her leukemia. Temporarily, while Anton’s mother is in the hospital, Anton will have to be given to a special school for children suffering from disabilities. If he ends up at this school, then all of his progress will be lost.

Rinata has a good chance of surviving her leukemia. If the uto-transplantation of the bone marrow is successful, the remission can last for more than a decade. If this happens, Anton does not have to stay at a special school, but can instead work with specialists and volunteers to regain the same skills he had when he was fourteen years old. In other words, he has the chance to regain his social skills and to recapture his ability write. With special help, we think it is likely that Anton could re-learn not just letters and words, but even return to his former partially dictated and partially self-written texts he had created before his sudden turn for the worse.

Anton needs money for a special nurse who can work with him while Rinata is in the hospital. They live extremely modestly and very soon Rinata will need expensive medications. Additionally, Anton needs money for a neurological check-up that he has not had even once in the last ten years (the combined family income has hardly been enough for daily living).

We earnestly ask you to help Anton and his mother. You can transfer money to Rinata’s personal bank account via the internet. Money can also be transferred to Rinata through the fun AdVita—there is a page dedicated to Rinata.

If you would like to transfer money by any other means, or if you have any questions about how to help Rinata and Anton, you can reach us:
In Moscow – Daria Gladesheva +7 (926) 177–69 -14
In St. Petersburg – Maria Berkovich +7 (921) 418-70-63