For the past 14 years, Adrianna DeAngelis has taught a pre-K class at Birch Family Services, a nonprofit agency that runs educational, employment, family support and residential programs for people with autism and developmental disabilities. The UFT represents 200 educators and support staff across four Birch early childhood centers and schools.
What does your classroom look like?
It’s a self-contained classroom for pre-K students with autism spectrum disorders. We have a small ratio of students to educators. I have two assistants in the classroom. All the children have IEPs and get services like speech and occupational therapy.
We use more visual aids than a general education pre-K classroom would. Every child has a visual schedule that helps them predict their day and navigate the classroom from one area to another. Every child has a visual transition cue, usually in the shape of something they’re passionate about. So, for example, I have a little girl in my class who loves Elmo. Her transition cue is a picture of Elmo, and on Elmo is her name and her photo. It’s on her schedule, cubby, chair, table and play mat. This image of Elmo tells her what is hers and helps distinguish boundaries between her toys and her classmates’ toys. It also lets her know where to go for her next activity in the classroom.
How else is your classroom different from a general education pre-K classroom?
We put a lot of emphasis on building independence. We have work stations in the classroom where the children learn to do independent tasks that are related to their IEP goals. For example, if a child’s IEP is about fine motor skills, they might imitate vertical lines on paper. Or I have a lot of children whose goals are about focusing and completing a task, so we give them simple tasks, such as putting buttons into a cylinder. They love the structure.
My students are 3 to 5 years old. Some will stay in my class for two years in a row before they go on to kindergarten in a regular public school or to a District 75 program. Over those two years, you get to see where that child was and how far they’ve come, and you get to build a strong relationship with the family.
How do you involve the child’s family?
At my site, Springfield Gardens Early Childhood Center in Queens, we do a lot of parent outreach. We provide training to the parents on things like understanding autism, using the toilet, literacy and the transition to kindergarten. I do a lot of hands-on outreach — making phone calls, writing notes and answering questions. We invite families in for celebrations and holidays where we’ll have food, crafts or sensory activities. It’s a real family feeling, warm and welcoming.
What’s your favorite memory of interacting with a parent?
At lunchtime one day, my assistant was giving out a bowl of snacks. This one child, who had always been nonverbal, motioned with his hands like a fish would swim. My assistant looked at him and said, “Do you want goldfish?” And he said, “Yeah.”
That same day, I had a virtual parent conference with his mother. She asked me, “Is he ever going to talk?” I said, “I don’t have a crystal ball to give me all the answers. But I do have this story to tell you.” She was speechless with tears of joy.
You’re working with these kids day in, day out, and finally May or June hits and they have a breakthrough. These are the moments that I remember why I do this. They’re why I say to the parents, “Your child can learn. They just learn differently.”
—As told to Hannah Brown