Jakarta, Kartunet.com - Individuals with intellectual disabilities experience delays in thinking due to below-average intelligence levels. As a result, they struggle to adapt, are unable or less able to help themselves, and experience hindered development in language, social-emotional skills, cognition, and academics. This condition typically manifests during their developmental age of 0-18 years.
How can we recognize their characteristics?
Individuals with intellectual disabilities can often be identified by their physical appearance; similar facial features and body posture, proneness to sweating easily, body odor, and involuntary drooling. They are slow to grasp instructions, slow to understand concepts, easily forget, and struggle with abstract thinking. Even if they are adults, their behavior often remains childlike. They tend to engage in repetitive routines, mumble, and speak spontaneously but unclearly. Sometimes they may throw tantrums without reason, shout, or slam doors. They might suddenly stop an activity and become silent. They complete developmental tasks at a slower pace (sensitive period).
What services do they need?
Individuals with intellectual disabilities require services for self-care abilities and life skills, as well as learning services for basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, and self-protection education.
What specific tools do they need?
For learning, they need concrete tools such as miniature animal toys, matching card (picture and word pairs), sequential cards to help them understand a series of events/occurrences; COMPIC (picture cards) to help them learn to read and write, and understand simple concepts. Colorful pencils, pictures, puzzles, and concrete objects in their surroundings can be suitable learning tools for them.
Note: Their learning must be gradual (starting from easy tasks), consistent, and repetitive.
How can we help them?
A below-average intelligence level does not mean they cannot develop. They complete developmental tasks at a slower pace.
- When communicating or asking them to do something, we should use short sentences; explain with concrete objects.
- Teach skills gradually and repetitively.
- Note: do not give long instructions/commands.
- If something is wrong or incorrect, it must be corrected immediately.
- Another important thing to help them is to teach and instill an understanding of what is good/allowed and what is not good/not allowed so they can protect themselves.
- Some of them require accompaniment/supervision.