Examining opinions of mothers of children with special needs on transition process from preschool to elementary school

The purpose of this study is to obtain the views of the mother of children with special needs with regard to the following topics a) process before the elementary school level, b) the process of elementary school level, and c) mothers' expectations and suggestions in the transition to elementary school. The research data were collected through the semi-structured interviews with nine mothers in the city ofSakarya. An interview form was prepared in advance for interviews. Interviews were carried out in suitable day and time for mothers and audio recordings were taken. Then interviews were transcribed and analyzed inductively. It was observed that thanks to e-school system, mothers have not encountered a serious problem in placing an elementary school of children with special needs, but some schools have not accept these children and have led them to special schools in the findings obtained at the end of the research. Mothers have complained to the authorities and children were accepted to school in this way. According to another result of the research, any preparation did not carry out in elementary schools during the transition to elementary school. Mothers have met with children's teachers the first day of school and necessary physical arrangements have made after the child have started to school. Another finding of the study was the support of parents and the fulfillment of the demands of parents by school managers on issues such as physical arrangements, financial problems emerging after placing children with special needs to elementary school. The interviewed mothers under the study waited for more attention for their children with special needs from school management and teachers related to the transition to elementary school; and school management recommended being patient and committed, preparation against possible future problems related to the transition to elementary school, defending their own rights to parents and being informed about these. Thanks to the findings obtained from the scope of this study, various suggestions have developed. Monitoring all aspects of the transition in the transition to elementary school, ensuring coordination between institutions, providing of transition services for families before and after placement can be considered among the suggestions. In addition, training of teachers and school management on special education and legal regulations are some of the suggestions obtained from research findings.