Parental Needs of Transition of Children Using Cochlear Implants from Preschool to Inclusive School

The families of children with hearing impairments are more focused on early detection and intervention. Transition to school is a stressful experience to the parents as they miss out on understanding the importance of transition process and the information required for a successful, efficient and effective transition to school. The current study was aimed to evaluate the needs of parents on transition of their children with hearing impairment from preschool to inclusive school. Thirty five mothers of children with hearing impairment using cochlear implants in the range of 4-6 years participated in the study. "Scale of parental needs in transition to school" (Kargin, Baydik & Akcamete, 2004) was modified, adapted and administered on the mothers. Percentage analysis indicated that 75% of parents expressed need for information on most of the areas of transition to school. Correlation between groups was found to be significant with respect to educational status, age of the mothers and socioeconomic status of the families. Parents are the most influential yet significantly underrated factors in children's education and hence their information needs should be determined for successful transition process. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)