The Effect of Providing Play Therapy (Illustrated Number Card Media) on Improving Simple Arithmetic Understanding in School-Age Children with Mental Disabilities at Pati State Elementary School for Special Needs

Abstract

With intellectual disabilities are individuals who have limitations in intellectual and adaptive functioning, including difficulties in understanding basic numeracy concepts. Numeracy skills are fundamental and essential for daily life; however, children with intellectual impairments often struggle to recognize numerical symbols and associate them with actual quantities. This issue demands a learning method that is not only enjoyable but also tailored to their learning style through a more effective visual and concrete approach. One approach considered to meet these needs is play therapy using pictured number card media. This media presents numbers accompanied by engaging illustrations, making it easier for children to understand numerical concepts through direct experience and interaction. This study aims to determine the effect of play therapy on improving basic numeracy understanding in school-aged children with intellectual disabilities at SDLB Negeri Pati. The method was quantitative with a pre-experimental design of the one-group pre-test and post-test type. The sample consisted of 49 elementary school-aged students with intellectual disabilities, selected using purposive sampling. The instruments were pictured number card media and a basic numeracy questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. The results showed a significant increase in post-test scores compared to pre-test scores.Based on the Wilcoxon tesr result, a -value of 0.000 (<0.05) was obtained,indicating a significant effect of the simple counting comprehension level before and after the play theray using picture number cards.       Most respondents experienced improvement in recognizing and understanding number symbols from 1 to 10 after participating in play therapy. Therefore, it can be concluded that play therapy using pictured number card media is effective in improving basic numeracy understanding in school-aged children with intellectual disabilities and can serve as an alternative learning method in special education settings.