The objectives of study were: (1) To study the effect of AAC training on student teachers’ ability to teach language and communication to learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (2) To study the impact of an AAC system on development of language and communication in learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (3) To study the effect of learning on AAC system on attitude of student teachers regarding need-based language program.

The hypotheses of study were: (1) Training and practice of ACC system will enhance student teachers’ ability to develop language and communication skills in learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (1a) The mean score on general communication skills of experimental group student teachers (with training on AAC system) will be significantly higher as compared to that of control group students teachers. (1b) The student teachers of experimental group will have significantly higher than mean score on skills for development of semantics (in learners with mental handicaps) as compared to that of control group student teachers. (1c) The mean score on skills for development of syntax obtained by student teachers of experimental group will be significantly higher as compared to that obtained by student teachers of control group. (1d) The obtained mean score on skills for development of pragmatics by student teachers of experimental group will be significantly higher as compared to that by student teachers of control group. (2) Use of AAC system will enhance the language and communication skills in learners with severe to moderate mental handicap. (2a) Gain from pretest to posttest on semantics skills by learners of experimental group will be significantly higher than that by learners of control group. (2b) Gain from pretest to posttest on syntax skills by experimental group learners will be significantly higher as compared to that by control group learners. (2c) Gain from pretest to posttest on pragmatics skills by experimental group learners will be significantly higher as compared to that by control group learners. (3) The student teachers of experimental group will have a positive attitude towards training and practice of AAC system for development of language and communication skills in learners with mental handicaps. (3a) The posttest scores of experimental group student teachers will have a significant positive correlation with their scores on reaction scale. 

The sample for first phase comprised of 30 randomly selected student teachers enrolled in two B.Ed. (special education) courses in Mumbai. The sample for second phase comprised of randomly selected 30 learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps and speech and language delay from 3 special schools in Mumbai.

The tools used for the study were: Kamat Binet Test of Intelligence, Sequin Form Board, Language Assessment Tool, The Makaton Vocabulary, The Makaton Training Module, Teacher’s Behavior Scale for Language Teaching, Children Language Acquisition Test (CLAT) and Reaction Scale. From these the Makaton Training Module, TEBSLAT, CLAT and RS were developed by the researcher. The reliability coefficient of reaction scale (RS) was 0.769 (Split-half Method). 

The study was experimental in nature involving pretest-post test control group design in both the phases.

The statistical techniques used for data analysis were MANOVA and Pearson’s Product Moment Coefficient. 

The findings of study were: (1) Training and use of AAC system was effective in enhancing student teachers’ ability to develop language and communication skills in learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (2) Training and practice of AAC system had significant effect on general communication skills of student teachers. (3) Student teachers with training and practice of AAC system were found to have significantly higher mean score on skills for development of semantics in learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps in comparison to that of student teachers of control groups. (4) Training and practice of AAC system had significant effect on student teachers skills for development of syntax in learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (5) Student teachers with AAC training showed significantly higher performance on skills for development of pragmatics in comparison to those in control group. (6) The use of AAC system was effective in enhancing language and communication skills of learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (7) Learners using AAC system gained significantly higher on semantic skills in comparison to learners in control group. (8) Use of AAC system was effective in enhancing syntactic skills of learners with severe to moderate mental handicaps. (9) In comparison to learners of the control group, the experimental group learners who were taught with AAC technique showed significantly higher gain on pragmatics. (10) Training and practice of AAC system influenced the student teachers in favor of need based language intervention program.