Mental Retardation Child Therapy in West Lombok

LOMBOK BARAT (August 28, 2021) - The Ministry of Social Affairs through Social Rehabilitation Center "Paramita" Mataram provides social rehabilitation services for children in need of special protection with the initials R who are diagnosed as being in the category of Moderate Mental Retardation and so far have not been given interaction with the environment outside her house.

R is an 8-year-old girl who received residential ATENSI Services. When referred to the Center in June 2021.

The condition of R is quite alarming where she tends to avoid and refuse to be approached by new people and cannot communicate. This is due to R's intellectual ability (IQ) which is included in the Moderate Mental Retardation category. R also received less stimulus because she was always locked in the house and not allowed to interact with other people.

The social rehabilitation team consisting of Social Workers, Psychologists, Nurses, and caregivers focuses on improving R's independence which aims to improve fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and oral motor skills; increasing activity daily skills (toilet training, eating/drinking, dressing, bathing, brushing teeth); improve the ability of social interaction, social response, and the ability to adapt in a social environment; and improve communication skills.

The intervention was given to R uses Behavior Modification Therapy by combining various techniques including reinforcement, extinction, shaping, and chaining. Consistently being given a stimulus through Behavior Modification Therapy, will have a positive impact on R's self-change and increase R's independence.

The development of social rehabilitation that R has achieved includes increasing motor skills such as holding a glass, holding food and clapping hands, increasing toilet training skills (especially in urinating, bathing, eating, and drinking), increasing social interaction skills, adapting, and social responsibility where R is already willing to approach other people when called or to get what she wants.

In addition, R can respond to requests from others, greets others, is willing to try to blend in with other people in her social environment.

In terms of current speaking ability, R has started to imitate and say a few words, for example, when R is asked to say one word, R will say "tu", the pronunciation of three words, R will say "ga".

The purpose of implementing Behavior Modification in the game area is to improve social interaction, social response, and ability to adapt to the people around her.