Results of a recent survey of parents (April-2009)
What were your main reasons for enrolling your child in a special school for the deaf?
"She would be unable to cope with the noise level in a mainstream school." "She would be lost in a class of 23-30." "Mainstreaming teachers would not have specialist skills and knowledge." "Mainstreaming would benefit the other children in the class, not my child." "Mainstream school would have little or no understanding of deaf children." "We wanted the best education, a mainstream school would not cater for her needs." "She would be left behind." "She needed to learn via sign language." "Small classes, ensuring she got good attention." "To be with people who were the same as her i.e. deaf." What are the benefits of your child attending St. Mary's School? "She'll learn a lot more" "Teachers understand her difficulties" "Extensive experience and body of knowledge in the School for the Deaf" "It has enabled her to progress socially and academically to an extent unimaginable to me 5 years ago" "Building friends/social development" "This is the best school for her" "Her social needs, verbal needs, signing needs and educational needs are all met" "She loves school very much" "We can understand her, talk to her- things that were not possible in a mainstream school" "My child can learn more because class numbers are small" "She has made many friends" "She is in an environment where she isn't the odd one out-everyone else around her has the same disability as her" "Smaller classes- individual attention" "She is happier in herself- the greatest achievement to date. Her frustration levels are significantly lessened" Other Comments "St. Mary's is a great school. I wish I had sent her there at a much earlier stage" "We have wonderful support from the school. There is always someone on the other end of the phone when we need it. We don't feel alone anymore, or lost in parenting" "it feels like we are sharing the care of S. She is exceptionally well minded and is very happy- being shown love and affection. It's not just a job for her teachers and carers" "In the mainstream school we were known as "the Mammy and Daddy of the deaf girl" Now, thankfully, we're just Mammy and Daddy"