Description of Early Literacy Skills in Children with Special Needs in Kindergarten

Initial literacy ability is one of the abilities that become the obligation to begin to teach to early childhood. This program is very important as a trigger in predicting children's abilities in the future. Even recently, there are many children who do not have an interest in early literacy, besides teachers and parents at home must pay more attention to children's literacy skills. This study aims to increase the ability of early literacy in children with special needs in kindergarten. More specifically, this study describes (1) the conditions and characteristics of children with special needs, (2) initial literacy competencies, and (3) giving treatment to improve school readiness. The subjects of this study were 8 children with special needs from inclusion kindergarten schools in Yogyakarta. This research was conducted with descriptive qualitative research methods using interview guidelines. The results showed that the intervention had a positive effect on children's literacy skills. The treatment also has an indirect effect on the class teacher. Keywords— inclusive education; children with special needs, kindergartens.