Three participants had moved to Scotland from another country.  One participant moved at a fairly young age and so they had limited knowledge of what transition processes were put in place.  Challenges did exist because of the change from the sign language used in their country of birth.  Help was provided through an identified person at primary school to learn and improve their skills in BSL.  Secondary school was considered to be very different to primary school in that the pace felt so much faster.  More support and an enhanced transition from primary to secondary school would have made a big difference.

For the second participant, their transition from a Deaf school in another country to a mainstream secondary school in Scotland was extremely challenging.  No BSL/English interpreters were provided and written English was used to communicate.  Learning BSL and English was an initial priority and therefore understanding what was happening in the school environment was extremely difficult.  On transitioning to university, further stereotypical and cultural barriers were experienced in terms of the course they had chosen to study as a Deaf young person.  Apart from this, the social and teaching aspects of university were very positive.  Challenges did exist in understanding the new terminology and learning the signs for these.

A third participant did not attend nursery or an early learning and childcare setting.  On starting school at age six, she did not have any language whatsoever.  Instead, gestures were used to communicate until she moved to Scotland and was taught BSL and English.  When this primary school for Deaf children closed down, she was moved to a mainstream primary.  This transition was hard to adjust to and communication was challenging.  In the previous school for the Deaf, everyone was on an even playing field, they knew the rules and what to do.  One positive aspect was that the teachers from the Deaf school went with the pupils to the new school and this provided some stability.  One particularly anxious time was in S4 when the examinations were approaching.  However, the secondary school provided great support and reassurance.

One participant explained that after her parents found out she was Deaf, a Deaf role model was assigned to her.  This lady was affectionately referred to as her ‘Deaf mum’.  Every week she would come to their house for a few hours to teach her and her family British Sign Language.  She also provided assistance and support during transitions from home to nursery and from nursery to primary.

The transition from primary to secondary was more difficult because the secondary school only had a small Deaf unit and the teacher did not sign.  While the participant managed for a period of time and did have some Deaf friends, this particular school was not, in her opinion, the best fit for her.  When the opportunity came to transition to another secondary school, this was an amazing experience.  Transitioning again from secondary school to university also presented challenges not least because it was a very new environment.  Understanding what was going on, the culture of the university and how everything works was a bit complicated at first.