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The Role of Counselors Serving Deaf or Hard of Hearing Students in Public Schools
- American Annals of the Deaf
- Gallaudet University Press
- Volume 156, Number 3, Summer 2011
- pp. 305-319
- 10.1353/aad.2011.0028
- Article
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Since enactment of Public Law 94-142, residential schools for d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students have lost enrollment to public schools. Public school counselors now must meet d/Dhh students' counseling needs. There is little literature on if and how counselors are doing this. The present study used a survey to evaluate the job satisfaction and expectations of 22 counselors working with d/Dhh students in programs across the United States. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 6 participants functioning as counselors for d/Dhh students. Results indicated that the counselors were generally pleased with their role, which, however, diverged markedly from the American School Counselor Association (2003) national model. The interviews revealed 5 themes that may be unique to counselors serving d/Dhh students in public schools: Authority Based on Experience, Director of Collaborations/Negotiations, Isolation, Surrogate Parent/Insightful Social Confidante, and Martyr.