Anton's parents tell about sending their son to a boarding school

In this article, Jens and Pernille Stockmarr tell about their experience of sending their son Anton who is disabled to the FAAE boarding school. FAAE is a living-studying community, which houses about 100 disabled and non-disabled students together.

What has been our experience of sending our son Anton to FAAE?

These were out initial impressions, when we first visited the school

• We were met with a great sense of openness from both teachers and students. Everyone was very enthusiastic about introducing us to the school.
• We found out that the school is based in an old nursing home and therefor it was ideas for disabled students. There were automatic doors, wide hallways, no doorsteps, flat floors, handlebars and several elevators.
• We also learned that all student dorms were doubles with large bathrooms and showers, which is ideas for disabled students.
• Anton was met with a lot of positivity, when he went there for four days a year before he enrolled. He came home with a very positive impression of the place.

What is our view of FAAE now that Anton is in the middle of his second semester:

• We can see that Anton has a very good social life on the school – sometimes it can be a little overwhelming, but that is not because of his disability.
• We still see the school as accessible. Having two main elevators is good, because one might malfunction from time to time. The new arrangement of the dining hall is a huge plus for the school, but it does not seem like it has had any particular effect on accessibility for disabled students. Finally, the positive attitude must be respected, as it is very important for both students and teachers.
• The system of having one helper on a long term contract, who has the job of coordinating the support, insures that everything is always working as it should. We think that it is working very well. It means that both Anton and us know who to contact with questions and inquiries.
• In general, the school puts a lot of focus on the students being there for each other for many of the small tasks of the day. It has a very inclusive effect.
• Anton has gained a lot of physical strength throughout the year and is much less dependent on personal assistance and tools. It has been a very maturing process to learn how to ask for help from others.
• The trip to Berlin worked out very well. By that time, it was a natural thing for his friends to help Anton whenever it was needed. We have not heard about any problems on the trip – nor any issues related to Anton's disability.
• Anton attended the program “10 plus”, which was a natural continuation of his former schooling experience. He has learned a lot at the school. Especially his sense of independence has been developed a lot.

Like all the other parents, we meet a happy and exhausted boy when Anton ventures home on the weekends – and he is always happy to return to the school when the week starts!

This article was written by Jens and Pernille Stockmarr – Parents to Anton