Mhairi's Story

by mum Vikki Flett

Mhairi Flett is our 17 year old daughter and is in the 'leavers' class, ie. class 9, at the Canaan Lane Campus of the Royal Blind School (RBS). She will be leaving school next year and this is our story.

Mhairi was at a very good special needs school in Glasgow when we realised that she required a more specialised school to cater for the fact that she was blind as well as having severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy. We wanted to maximise her potential, to give her every possible chance to develop and achieve.

We discovered Canaan Campus of the Royal Blind School through a friend of my parents who had a son working there at the time.

We visited and were amazed at the facilities and the quality of care offered and at the small, friendly group sizes in which they lived and were being taught and by the medical support on offer. Mhairi started at the RBS in 1996 when she was nearly seven. She quickly got to know everyone and really enjoyed being with the other children in both the residential unit and the class. At first it was difficult for us to let Mhairi go away to school for five days a week but we very quickly realised that we could trust everyone to take good care of her; we began to relax, she was having the time of her life and as the schooling and residential services worked together the input she was receiving was 24hrs a day; we could see she was really benefiting from this.

As Mhairi is one of twins we were also able to devote more time to her sister when she was away. We didn't want her to loose out on anything either. It meant the activities which would have been difficult with Mhairi were made possible for her to enjoy. We also discovered that my parents, who live in Edinburgh, could visit Mhairi. They were free to call up and even arrive unannounced and were always welcomed warmly by all the staff. 

We then had to move south of the border for work and this meant Mhairi leaving the RBS. Although she went to a lovely school in England it just wasn't the same as Canaan Lodge, (as it was then known). When we returned to Scotland in 2000 it was wonderful to be able to let Mhairi return to the RBS, though it was not the easiest of times. We had to work very hard to get our new local authority to agree to the placement and it wasn't until 2001 that Mhairi eventually returned to the RBS. It had taken 6 months! 

There was no question in our minds that this was the very best placement for her, the only one we wanted.  Since then she has come on in leaps and bounds. She can use a switch to read stories and communicate with people, has a much better understanding of what is going on around her, has made friends within the school and goes out to various activities where she is loved and accepted as she is. For Mhairi this has been the best education and the best social experience she could have had, and we believe it has fitted her for her future in the world about her.  She is a very happy, sociable young lady who, we feel, has achieved her potential thus far and who will be able to continue to learn and enjoy life after she leaves school. For us, it has educated us and shown us how to work with Mhairi from her physio to her switching, giving us the much need support in looking after her needs and giving her the fun she deserves.