Provincial Satisfaction Surveys

2008 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey

The 2007/2008 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey is conducted to obtain opinions from parents of children with severe special needs to assess their satisfaction with key areas of the education system.  A random sample of 816 parents of children with severe special needs completed the survey.  Severe special needs descriptions include severe emotional/behavioral disability, severe physical or medical disability, ECS severe delay involving language, severe multiple disability, severe cognitive disability, deafness, and blindness.  Other disabilities e.g., mildly or moderately disabled were not included in the survey.  Key findings from the survey are given below. 

Click here to view the full report: 
2007/08 Parents of Children with Severe Special Needs Survey Report

Key Findings 

  • 87% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that their child needs support services to attend school.
  • 81% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that their special needs child is benefitting from the services provided at school. 
  • 80% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that the people providing services to their child work well together.
  • 79% of parents with severe special needs children were satisfied with the quality of their child’s education.
  • 79% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that their child’s school provides the learning resources that meet the needs of their child.
  • 79% of parents with severe special needs children were satisfied with their opportunity to be involved in decisions at the school.
  • 78% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that they were meaningfully involved in the development of their child’s Individualized Program Plan (IPP).
  • 72% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that the school provides a program that meets the needs of their child.
  • 71% of parents with severe special needs children were satisfied with the support services their child is receiving at school.
  • 62% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that the services for their child were arranged quickly.
  • 51% of parents with severe special needs children agreed that it was easy to access services for their child.

For more information or a copy of the full report contact measurement.education@gov.ab.ca