Study of Children with Down Syndrome Basic Number Skills Using Numicon Alma Rahmawati (a), Elah Nurlaelah (b), Aan Hasanah (c)
Departement of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Mathematic and Science Education, Indonesia University of Education Jalan Dr. Setiabudi No.229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia
This research was conducted due to the low basic number skills in mentally retarded children, especially in children with down syndrome. Basic number skills are students ability to count, write, sort, and calculate the results of addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division operations on natural numbers from 1 to 100. The purpose of this study was to obtain clear information and picture of the extent of basic number skills in down syndrome children using Numicon. This was a qualitative research with the case study research design conducted in one of the school for the mentally retarded in Bandung. The participants in this study were selected based on the criteria determined by the researcher, which are four people of different grade and age levels. The data collection was obtained through basic number skills tests, both verbally and in writing and interviews. The results showed that: (a) Down syndrome children have been able to count to 40. (b) The basic arithmetic skills mastered by the down syndrome children are addition and subtraction. (c) The basic number skills levels of the four participants have not reached their corresponding grade or age levels. (d) The Numicon modified by the researcher was capable to improve the basic number skills of the down syndrome children, despite needing improvements on the materials that should be refined, color compositions that should be made brighter, and shapes that should be made more symmetrical.
Keywords: down syndrome, basic number skills, Numicon.
