California Educator

member profile CTA photo by Dave Earl Carpenter leslie h onG " It's our job as special education teachers to take students from their world and show them it's OK to join us in this world. L eslie Hong's manner is quiet and encouraging as she leads a young stu dent with special needs by the hand to a kidsize beanbag. Her classroom at first glance looks like any preschool: alphabet let ters ringed about the walls, miniature chairs, kids aimlessly bouncing about in various stages of unrest. But Hong, a specialneeds preschool instructor at Cleveland Elementa ry in Pasadena — who teaches a class designed specifically for children with autism — begins this class giving every student close, oneonone contact. "My class is a sensorimotor class, so we've found that physically holding stu dents is kind of mindopening for them," says Hong, wrapping a blanket around each of her students in turn and letting them bask for a few moments on top of a cushy beanbag. Each child in the class sits at attention waiting their turn — a clear look of antici 38 California Educator | 22-40 June.09.indd 38 june pation on their small faces as they watch their classmates being rocked in the com fort of the blanket. "When I squeeze them like this, it calms them down and helps them to focus," she explains. "Proprioception — which is movement of the joints — gives informa tion to the joints and produces calmness." Hong became a special education teach er four years ago after her involvement in college working at a junior high after school program. She had developed a bond with a young girl in the class with Down syndrome. It was her connection with that girl that led Hong to specialize in special education. She knew that's where she could make a difference. Hong walks a student named Fernando over to work with a picturecommunica tion system and talks about mainstreaming her students into the typical preschool class next door. "For my kids, this pre " school is their first experience with school, so my goal is to get them ready to be able to sit and pay attention in a blended inclu sion class. Not everybody is going to achieve that — and that's OK." Hong is realistic about the challeng es her students face. She is also a natu ral at working with kids with special needs — a human conduit connecting these students with autism to the rest of the world. "The best thing about this job is that the smallest victory can make your day. Last week, one of our kids raised her hand and motioned during 'If You're Happy and You Know It,' and that was the very first time in two years that she did a hand motion with our class. "That might be a small thing for some one else," says Hong proudly, "but for our staff that was the best day ever." Dave earl carPenter 2009 6/4/09 2:01:45 PM

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