READING ABILITY AS A RED FLAG OF MILD LEVEL INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Abstract

Intellectual disability often disguises as a mere learning difficulty in early years of elementary education, then become severe in higher level. Teachers often misinterpret that student’s learning inability as a simple learning difficulty because of laziness or demotivation. This inability to identify its symptom in early phase makes an irreversible learning output. This study is a sample of using reading difficulty as a red flag to notice a mild level intellectual disability. The participant is MR, a 10-years-3-months-old boy who shows learning difficulty, especially on reading ability. This study is a single-subject design with qualitative approach. The researcher does the assessment by using class and daily observation methods, interviewing parents and teachers, giving test using Standford-Binet (SB) to measure general intelligence, and doing Draw a Family Test (DAFT) to measure socioemotional state. Assessment result provides an inability of reading in early level (around preschool and first year of elementary school), and it can predict learning difficulty in next level which can be shown as the symptom of mild level intellectual disability.