Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children in Regional and Rural Areas: Parent Views on Educational Services

The general trend for the inclusion of deaf and hearing impaired students in Australia involves placing students in a mainstream classroom setting alongside their hearing peers with regular support from a Visiting Teacher of the Deaf. The provision of educational services to deaf and hearing impaired students in regional and rural areas, however, can be a challenge, with many parents frequently reporting reduced access to appropriate services. The aim of this study was to survey parents of deaf and hearing impaired students located in regional and rural Western Australia to gain an insight into the level of satisfaction with current services and provide an opportunity for parents to comment on how, if at all, the service delivery model for deaf and hearing impaired students in these areas could be improved. In total, responses from 34 parents of deaf and hearing impaired students located in five regional and rural areas of Western Australia were analysed. Results showed that there was generally a high level of satisfaction with Visiting Teacher of the Deaf services; however, parents did report that contact regarding their child's needs, progress and accessibility to services could be improved through more regular and longer visits by Visiting Teachers of the Deaf. The benefits of applying a family centred paradigm to ensure flexible service delivery for deaf and hearing impaired students and the development of formal policies and guidelines for Visiting Teachers of the Deaf are discussed. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.