Freestyle Swimming (Crawl) Learning Model for Autistic Children in Elementary School

The purpose of this study was to create a freestyle swimming learning model for autistic children at special schools at the elementary school level. This study used research and development (R&D) method using Borg and Gall model. The research sample was elementary school students taken from three districts of West Java Province, namely Subang, Purwakarta and Karawang Regencies. There are six elementary schools that are used as product trial sites. The research procedure consists of several stages, namely: 1) needs analysis, for teachers, principals and parents; 2) expert validation; 3) small group trials; 4) large group trials; and 5) effectiveness test. The instruments used consisted of interviews and questionnaires. The freestyle swimming assessment instrument was also validated using expert judgment and there were three experts involved in the assessment of the freestyle swimming test instrument and the product development results of freestyle swimming for children with special needs. Data were analyzed using the statistical method of mean difference test (t-test) to determine the effectiveness of the learning model. The results of the data analysis show that: 1) The freestyle swimming learning model for autistic children can be applied in the learning process; 2) The results of the average score of the experimental group (35.11) > the average of the control group (32.37), while the effectiveness test is t-count (35.58) > t-table (1.697), it can be stated that the freestyle swimming learning model for autistic children is effectively given in special schools at the elementary school level.