How To Handle Children With Speech and Communication Disorder in The Classroom: A Case Study of Two Kindergarteners At Bintang Mulia Kindergarten.

ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis masalah yang saya hadapi
ketika melakukan program magang di Sekolah Bintang Mulia, yaitu
tentang menangani anak yang memiliki kesulitan dalam berbicara dan
berkomunikasi. Objek yang diteliti adalah murid-murid Sekolah Bintang
Mulia kelas Deer.
Berdasarkan analisa saya, masalah ini terjadi karena masalah
artikulasi, keterbatasan fungsi kognitif, dan DAMP (Deficits in Attention,
Motor Control, and Perception.) Masalah ini memiliki dampak yang negatif
bagi performa akademis anak di sekolah. Selain itu, gangguan berbicara
dapat mempengaruhi kemampuan anak dalam berkomunikasi dengan
teman-temannya maupun dengan guru, sehingga proses sosialisasi
mereka pun menjadi terhambat.
Saya memaparkan tiga solusi yang berpotensi untuk menangani anak
yang memiliki kesulitan dalam berbicara dan berkomunikasi, beserta
dampak positif dan negatif yang mungkin terjadi jika solusi tersebut
diterapkan. Solusi yang pertama adalah dengan menyemangati anak
untuk berkomunikasi. Solusi kedua yaitu mendengarkan perkataan anak
dengan seksama. Solusi ketiga adalah dengan membawa orang tua dari
anak tersebut ke dalam kelas, supaya anak tersebut menjadi lebih

termotivasi untuk belajar. Setelah melakukan analisa, saya menentukan
solusi gabungan untuk menangani anak yang memiliki kesulitan dalam
berbicara dan berkomunikasi, yaitu menyemangati anak untuk
berkomunikasi dan mendengarkan perkataan anak tersebut dengan
seksama sebagai solusi terbaik.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY……………………………………………ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………..iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………...………………………………….……..iv

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...1-6
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS……………………………………….7
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS………………………………….11
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION………………………………………………15
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX: FLOWCHART

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APPENDIX
FLOWCHART

Cause 1: Limitation of cognitive
functioning
Cause 2: Articulation Problem
Cause 3: Deficits in Attention,
Motor Control, and Perception

Potential Negative Effects:
1, the teachers need extra time to
encourage children to speak

Potential Negative Effects:
1, the teachers need more time to
listen to the children
2. the other children would be

jealous

Potential Negative Effects:
1, the student will always depend
on the relatives
2. will not help the children to be
independent

Problem:
Speech and
Communication
Disorder among two
Children in Deer Class at
Bintang Mulia Kindergarten

Potential Solution 1:
encouraging regular oral
communication

Potential Solution 2:

listening patiently to every
word the children say

Potential Solution 3:
taking the children’s
parents into the classroom

 
 
 

Effect 3: the disorder lead children to have low selfesteem

Potential Positive Effects:
1, children will be more confident while talking with
other people
2. children become more open and willing to open a
conversation with their friend

Potential Positive Effects:

1, children will feel better and understood
2. children have more courage to begin a new
conversation with friends or teachers

Potential Positive Effects:
1, the children will feel comfortable
2. can encourage children to study

Chosen Solution:
encouraging regular oral communication
and
listening patiently to every word the children
say

 

Effect 1: the disorder affect to children’s performance
at school
Effect 2: the disorder lead to children’s personal or
social problems

 
 

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study
During five until six years old, children’s language and communication
skills develop rapidly, so their speech has become quite adult-like. At
those ages, they can tell stories either real or fictional (Woolfson 2006,
Papalia et. al 2003). They are also able to communicate their needs, like
asking permission to go to the restroom or asking for help when they are
feeling ill. When they are upset with a classmate, they are able to express
their feeling to the teacher, and ask the teacher to solve the problem.
When the children say something that the teacher cannot understand, they
can explain themselves more clearly. According to Owen, “Five years old
children have expressive vocabulary of 2100-2200 words, receptive of
20,000-40,000 words” (qtd. in Papalia, et. al 187). Owen further explains
that five years old children usually communicate in direct request. Children

of these ages also start to be able to discuss their own feelings.

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However, not all children show the same language and communicative
competence. Some children can have abnormalities in spoken language
or in language comprehension that significantly interfere with their
classroom performance. As a result, it is very important for the children
with speech and communication disorder to be treated. If left untreated,
they will have trouble finding playmates or friends. Johnston, Patton, and
Smith state that
Children with speech and communication disorders sometimes have
problems with reading and writing as well as with spoken language.
They may also have personal or social problems as a result of their
disability. For instance, they may feel self-conscious and embarrassed
when they speak, or they may be reluctant to speak at all. Furthermore,

if they sound “odd” or are difficult to understand, they may have
difficulty making friends, and thoughtless classmates may ridicule them
(qtd. in McDevitt, et. al 270).
When I was doing my internship program at Bintang Mulia
Kindergarten, there are two children with speech and communication
disorders in Deer Class. They have abnormalities in spoken language or in
language understanding both in Bahasa and in English, which disturb their
classroom performance a lot. Beside could not communicate well either
with the teachers or with other children, they have difficulty in
understanding or remembering what other people say. Sometimes they
communicate only by pointing and gesturing. As a result, when the
children have difficulty in expressing themselves, the teachers have to

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assist them by finishing their sentences. This also makes the teachers

have to learn to listen patiently to children with speech problems, and they
must encourage classmates to do likewise, because they occasionally
have trouble finding playmates or friends.
Based on my internship experience, I think this problem is interesting to
discuss because the children sometimes do not get the right solutions to
deal with their disorder. As a result, I would like to give an explanation of
the causes and effects of speech and communication disorder based on
library research and observation during my internship program. At the end
I will present the possible solutions to deal with children with speech and
communication disorder in the classroom.

B. Identification of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss in this paper are expressed in the
following questions:
1. Why do the children have speech and communication disorder?
2. How should the teacher deal with children with speech and
communication disorder in the classroom at Bintang Mulia
Kindergarten?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

By writing this paper, I will identify the causes and the effects of speech
and communication disorder. In addition, I am going to find out the best
solution to handle children with speech and communication disorder in the

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classroom. Thus, people, as well as Bintang Mulia teachers, will be able to
handle children with this disorder, and I hope this term paper can be an
additional form of psychological knowledge, especially to deal with those
who have speech and communication disorder. For that reason, I wish
they can teach better by understanding children’s psychological condition.
As the writer, It is expected this term paper can help me if one day I
have to deal with children with this disorder again. I would like help the
children to dig up and reach their maximum potential.

D. Description of the Institution
Bintang Mulia Kindergarten was established in 1997. It is a school that
has active learning methods, such as field trip; rhythmic; music; computer;
multilingual languages; and indoor-outdoor activities. Bintang Mulia
Kindergarten, which is 2500

wide, is located at Kopo Permai 1 Blok A-0

Bandung. The use of English is encouraged in the school as more and
more English books are put in the library, and the school has tried to use
English in everyday speaking. Moreover, it invited some native speakers
from China, the Philippines, and United States.
Bintang Mulia itself has a vision to become a Christian school which
emphasizes the teaching and learning process on Faith, Integrity, and
Knowledge. Its missions are to provide Holistic Education, Integrated
Learning, and life transformation program; to empower quality manpower
with Christian faith, morality, and social concern; to create good study
environment and to equip the school with good education facilities.

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E. Method of the Study
I use my internship journal that I wrote while I was doing my threemonth internship program at Bintang Mulia Kindergarten to get the
information required. I also interviewed the teacher who always
accompanied the children in the classroom. In addition, I read some books
and articles from the internet to have some valid theories to support my
analysis.

F. Limitation of the Study
The subject of my research is two children from Deer Class at Bintang
Mulia Kindergarten who have speech and communication disorder. In this
term paper, I am going to discuss the causes of why certain children have
speech and communication disorder, the effects of having such children in
the classroom, and the solutions to the problem. I will limit my discussion
only on how to deal with the children in the classroom.

G. Organization of the Term Paper
The major content of this term paper consists of four chapters. The first
chapter is the Introduction that is divided into seven parts. The first part is
Background of the Study. This part gives the reasons for choosing the
topic and explanation of the topic discussed. The second part is
Identification of the Problem. It explains the situation and problems
analyzed in the paper. The third part is Objectives and Benefits of the
Study. In this part, I will explain the aim that I want to reach at the end of

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writing this term paper, as well as the advantages for the institution and
the readers. The fourth part is Description of the Institution. This part
presents a brief description about the institution. The fifth part is Method of
the Study. In this part, I explain about the data gathering process. The
sixth part is Limitation of the Study. It gives the limitation of the topic
discussed. The seventh part of the first chapter is Organization of the
Term Paper. It has brief description about the parts of this term paper. The
second chapter is Problem Analysis. In this chapter, I will analyze the
causes and effects of the problem based on theories and the data got from
my internship program. The third chapter is Potential Solutions, which
presents some solutions to deal with this problem through the analysis of
the positive and negative effects of each solution. The last chapter is
Conclusion. In this chapter, I will mention the best solution with the logical
reasons and some suggestions on how to apply the solution.
 

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CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION

Based on the analysis on the previous chapters, I find out that certain
children can suffer from speech and communication disorder because of
articulation problems, limitations of cognitive functioning, and deficits in
attention, motor control, and perception. Some potential solutions such as
encouraging regular oral communication, listening patiently to the every
word the children say, and taking the children’s parents into the classroom
can be applied to deal with the problem. However, in this chapter, I am
going to state and explain the chosen solution from the three potential
solutions mentioned above.
The best potential solution to handle children with speech and
communication disorder in the classroom at Bintang Mulia is the
combination between encouraging regular oral communication and
listening patiently to every word the children say. By encouraging regular
oral communication, children with speech and communication disorder will
have better self-esteem and become more open and willing to open a
conversation with or telling stories to their friends or teachers. Therefore, it

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helps the children to socialize better. After the children were willing to tell
stories, both the teachers and classmates have to listen patiently to their
stories. By doing these, the children will feel more comfortable; in return
they are more active in classroom activities, and willing to answer the
questions given.
Furthermore, the teachers must be appreciative to children with speech
and communication disorder. They must be able to acknowledge the
efforts those children have given even if the end-result is not as good as
their friends. Thus, I suggest that the teachers in Bintang Mulia apply a
strategy of giving reward to make sure that the children get rewards
without making their friends jealous or feel that those children get a special
treatment. For instance, Enzo and Bevan are given the easier questions,
or else they are asked to review the previous lesson, so that they have the
courage and capability to reply and answer the questions correctly.
However, the teacher could not only ask Enzo and Bevan to answer or
review everyday, because it can make other children jealous.
By applying the solutions given, it is expected that children with speech
and communication disorder can be treated well. Teachers can have a
small talk with children at the spare time, furthermore teachers have to be
patient because the result cannot be achieved directly as there is no
instant way to get success in teaching and learning process.
 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources
Berk, Laura E. Child Development. 6th ed. Illinois: 2003.
McDevitt, Teresa M, and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod. Child Development and
Education. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002.
Papalia, Diane E., Dana Gross, and Ruth Duskin Feldman. Child
Development: A Topical Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2003.
Woolfson, Richard C. Anak yang Cerdas. Trans. Alexander Sindoro.
Batam Centre: Karisma Publishing Group, 2006.

Electronic Sources
“Articulation Problems.” oafccd.com. Ontario Association for Families of
Children with Communication Disorders. 28 April 2009
.
Connor, M.J. “Deficits in Attention, Motor Control, and Perception
(DAMP).”
sersen.uk. December 1998. South East Regional Partnership. 30 April
2009 .

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Language Development in Kids Ages 6-8.” Math and Reading Help. 2008.
Math and Reading Help for Kids. 11 May 2009
“Mental Retardation: Encyclopedia II.” Global Oneness. 11 May 2009

Scanlon, Robert. “Low Self Esteem”. Boost Your Self Esteem To New
Heights. 2005. 28 April 2008

 

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