Effect of Use of Instructional Materials on Self-Help Skills of Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Abuja School for The Handicapped, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: One role of special education is to increase the functional independence of children receiving services. Practitioners have used systematic instruction to teach academic, social, self-help, recreation/leisure, and vocational skills to different categories of children.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to ascertain the nature of self-help skills of children with intellectual disabilities and to determine the efficacy of instructional materials employed to teach self-help skills to children with intellectual disabilities.

METHODS: Using descriptive statistics to analyse the research questions. The researchers purposively and conveniently assigned eight (8) children as participants, diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and have identified deficits in either personal care and hygiene such as teeth brushing, dressing and cleaning of drooling, as identified by the teachers, with three sets of instruments: Ihenacho Cognitive Domain Measurement Profile (ICDMP) and Collection of Materials for Self-Help Skills (CMSKS) to collect data.

RESULTS: The results revealed that there was significant improvement in the ability to use a toothbrush in brushing teeth of the children in the second group and improvement in the experimental group using a toothbrush, the ability to use a handkerchief to clean drooling and ability to use detergent to wash clothes of the children in the second group and improvement in the experimental group using detergent.

CONCLUSION: The study recommended that teachers and caregivers of children with intellectual disabilities should help in the acquisition of hygiene protection skills and behaviour through training.