Android Technology-Based Educative Games for Children with Intellectual Disability: A Case Study at Yayasan Peduli Kasih Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus

Abstract

The mental age of children with Intellectual Disability (ID) is lowerthan their chronological age. They have limited ability to memorizesomething. Therefore, it is difficult for them to learn how to read,particularly in recognizing letters and spelling words. The use ofappropriate technology and importance of the closest people around themmay optimize their intellectual development. One of the technology canbe used in this case is educative games applications from Play store.This kind of game applications can attract them and provide assistancein learning. The objective of this study is to describe theeffectiveness of educative games ``Marbel Huruf and Belajar Membaca{''}to assist children with ID in reading in the first stage. This study islimited only in reading due to a complexity of this ability. The subjectof this study was one of Yayasan Kasih Anak Berkebutuhan Khusus.(YPKABK) female students with Down syndrome, whose age is 15 years old,but her mental age is still in 5 and she cannot read yet. Data ofstudent's reading skill were obtained through observations. Observationswere done during a month period. It was conducted between the middle ofMay and the middle of June. It was done repeatedly for giving her achance to repeat what she has learned. The result showed subject'senthusiasm through learning activities, high motivation, and an increasein ability even she has not reached an optimum stage yet. Family'sinteraction and participation were also necessary. This finding suggeststhat the teaching and learning process at YPKABK be embedded withtechnology (ICT).