Language Stimulation for Children with Mental Retardation-An Activity Manual for Parents

Abstract

The objectives of the Study: To develop training activities and guidelines suitable for north Indian home settings in an activity manual and to field test the developed material on a group of Hindi-English speaking parents of mental retardation. Method : 20 Parents and 20 Special educators (Mental Retardation) were included in this study. Field Study tool (Questionnaire) was developed on the base of coverage of content, use of language, style of presentation and difficulties in home implementation. Questionnaire and activities described in the manual were given to all the subjects for one week reading and they were asked to rate the questionnaire. Result : The data were statistically analyzed using Independent sample t-test to find out any significant difference among the groups. Result showed there was no significant difference among the groups. Both groups agreed that the most suitable material has been included regarding the coverage of content used in activity manual. Conclusion : There was no suggestion and no difficulty faced by both the groups while implementing the manual at home, as both Parents and Special Educators rated the questions similarly. The activity manual will be helpful to the parents for planning and carrying out the activities in day to day routine for their child and it's a compliment for the special educators.