Parents

Parents1.jpgYou and your child, who has a cochlear implant, are preparing for his or her entry into a mainstream classroom and you have questions-lots of them. You may only just be thinking about the school-entry process and planning ahead. Or, your child may already be in a mainstream school and you are searching for additional resources to help you.

If you are at the beginning of the school-entry process, we recommend that you work through the materials according to The Five-Step Plan. The Five-Step Plan contains five manageable steps that will help you navigate from the beginning of the school-entry process through your child's first year in a mainstream classroom. You should begin these steps at least six months prior to your child's entry into a mainstream classroom.

However, if you are already familiar with the school-entry process, or are looking for particular information, you can pick and choose which topic areas are most relevant to your situation from the list below.

  • Preparing for School-Entry. This section includes information on how to prepare your child, the school, and yourself for school-entry.
  • Challenging Situations. This section includes information on how to work with your child's teacher to solve problems throughout the school year.
  • After School-Entry. This section includes information on working with your child's teacher and the school to review and revise strategies as successes and challenges occur throughout the school year.
The Five-Step Plan and each topic area are subdivided into related topics and the information is presented via mini-courses. Each mini-course will take no more than 20 minutes to complete and includes information, tips, and strategies to help you manage the school-entry process and put your child in a position to succeed academically and socially in the classroom.

Throughout some of the mini-courses you will see hyperlinked "information sheets." These information sheets provide supplemental information related to the mini-course topic. Information sheets may be worksheets for you to complete, handouts to give to your child's school or teacher, or just a resource for you to keep.

Additionally, we include an optional quiz at the end of each mini-course. These quizzes test your knowledge of the information provided in the corresponding mini-courses.

Click The Five-Step Plan or a topic area above to get started.