Improving fundamental motor skills in children with intellectual disabilities through adapted sports and games

Abstract

Play serves as a medium through which individuals can free themselves from various complex and harmful pressures. Play activities provide a platform where emotions can be alleviated, made accessible, and acquire significance. Recognizing the crucial role of play for mentally disabled children, play activities have evolved into play therapy. In adaptive physical education, it stands out as a suitable activity for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Specifically, for children with mild mental retardation, engaging in traditional sports games is expected to enhance their fundamental locomotor movements. This research aimed to investigate whether traditional sports games contribute to the improvement of basic locomotor movements in children with mild mental retardation by assessing the improvements of these movements among students at Padang 2 State Special School. The research followed a quasi-experimental design with a one-group pretest–post-test structure. The population and sample for this research included all students at Padang 2 State Special School, totaling 12 students. Performance tests, namely walking, running, and jumping, were employed to assess the results of basic locomotor movements. Based on data calculations, the difference between the pretest and post-test results of basic locomotor movements was 5.78. Given that the t-count is greater than the t-table (5.78 > 1.86) with a significance of 5% at df 11, Ho was rejected, and Ha was accepted. Therefore, there is a considerable improvement in learning using traditional games, enhancing the basic locomotor movements of mildly mentally disabled students at Padang 2 State Special School after participating in equipment-moving and traditional games.