Makaton

Many of our mainstream and ASN learners benefit from Makaton and there are increasing numbers of people who are using Makaton in our establishments. Withing the council we have trained Makaton users and trainers who share their expertise and enthusiasm. There are lots of resources that can support development and use of Makaton.

Singing hands

Singing hands is a useful and popular tool to teach Makaton. A number of songs, stories and topic vocabulary are shared in an accessible manner.

Mr Tumble

Mr Tumble programmes from BBC are another popular tool for the use of Makaton.

What is Makaton?

Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as attention and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression.

Being able to communicate is one of the most important skills we need in life. Almost everything we do involves communication; everyday tasks such as learning at school, asking for food and drink, sorting out problems, making friends and having fun. These all rely on our ability to communicate with each other.

With Makaton, signs are used, with speech, in spoken word order. This helps provide extra clues about what someone is saying. Using signs can help people who have no speech or whose speech is unclear. Using symbols can help people who have limited speech and those who cannot, or prefer not to sign.

For those who have experienced the frustration of being unable to communicate meaningfully or effectively, Makaton really can help. Makaton takes away that frustration and enables individuals to connect with other people and the world around them. This opens up all kinds of possibilities.

(C) Makaton.org https://makaton.org/

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