THE EFFECT OF HORTICULTURAL ACTIVITIES OF PLANTING IRIS ORNAMENTAL PLANTS ON SOCIAL INTERACTION IN CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AT SLB-C PANCARAN KASIH CIREBON CITY

Children with intellectual disabilities tended to experience difficulties in interacting socially with their environment. One method to improve social interaction skills was through horticultural activities. This study aimed to determine the effect of horticultural activities, specifically planting ornamental plants, on the social interaction of children with intellectual disabilities at SLB-C Pancaran Kasih, Cirebon City.
This research used a quantitative method with a Quasi-Experiment design and a one-group pretest-posttest approach. The population consisted of all elementary school students at SLB-C Pancaran Kasih, totaling 29 children. A sample of 12 children was selected using purposive sampling based on their attendance and willingness to participate in the activity. The instrument used was an observation sheet on social interaction, which included aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication.
The results showed that before the horticultural activity, 58.3% of the respondents demonstrated good social interaction. After the activity, almost all respondents (91.7%) showed improvement in social interaction. The results of the paired sample t-test showed a significance value of p < 0.001, indicating a significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores.
This study is expected to serve as an alternative learning and therapeutic method to improve the social interaction skills of children with intellectual disabilities through horticultural activities.