Prof. Endang Pudjiastuti Sartinah delivered an inauguration speech as professor of guidance and counseling for children with special needs at UNESA.
Unesa.ac.id. SURABAYA—Children with special needs or ABK are still faced with societal stigma and other problems such as sexual behavior, for example. This problem often occurs, but is rarely discussed openly, meaning it is still considered taboo.
This was one of the important points conveyed by Endang Pudjiastuti Sartinah, when delivering her inauguration speech as professor, on October 29 2024 at Gedung Sawunggaling Performance, UNESA, Campus 2 Lidah Wetan.
The UNESA professor of guidance and counseling for children with special needs said that until now the topic of sexual behavior is often considered taboo by teachers and parents, so efforts to handle it have not been optimal.
"Therefore, sexual behavior guidance is a very important service to provide, especially for crew members," he said.
Guiding teachers and parents have a central role in this service. The main aim is to ensure that students' sexual behavior is in accordance with applicable norms and values, such as religious, socio-cultural and legal norms.
In order for this service to be optimal, reference materials are needed that can help supervising teachers and parents in providing appropriate sexual behavior guidance services for ABK.
The reference material in question could be in the form of a sexual behavior guidance service package such as that developed by Endang Pudjiastuti Sartinah and her team. The guidance service package they have developed is specifically for the mentally retarded.
“We have tested it at SLB AKW 2 and SLB Dharma Wanita Sidoarjo. "The products of this research include booklets, guidebooks, and three educational films, including the titles 'Smiles of my happiness' and 'Your happiness of my dreams'," he explained.
Solutions and Recommendations
Realizing holistic, inclusive education is certainly not without challenges. In the field, there are still many obstacles faced, starting from the lack of counselors who are specially trained to handle ABK, to an education system that is not yet fully adaptive to the needs of children with special needs.
These challenges should not be an obstacle. On the contrary, it must be a driving force to continue to innovate in the fields of education and counseling. According to Endang Pudjiastuti Sartinah, there are at least three recommendations for improving the professional quality of ABK guidance and counseling.
First, strengthening training for counselors. Educational counselors must receive adequate training in working with children with special needs.
This training must include an in-depth understanding of the needs of children with various types of disabilities, as well as practical skills in providing appropriate support.
Second, collaboration between schools, parents and the community. Inclusive education can only be successful if all parties involved (school, family and community) work closely together. Educational counselors must be active links in encouraging this collaboration.
Third, development of supporting policies. The government and educational institutions must continue to develop policies that support the success of inclusive education, including the allocation of sufficient resources for guidance and counseling services.[*]
***
Reporter Team: Retno Nurus Sholekha (internaship)
Editor: @zam*
Photo: UNESA PR Team
Share It On:
