The Makaton Method

The world can be a daunting, scary place. It is a truth that spans all ages, backgrounds, education, ethnicities, and religious beliefs. This rock spinning wild through space that we get to call home, has the power to make every one of us feel lost.

Now, imagine a life where communication is a struggle. A life where sharing your fears, worries, or even how your most recent day on this planet-sized journey played out, was a daily battle.

This is the reality for many adults and children with learning and communication difficulties.

Our world can be a daunting, scary place…but it is our home, and if anything, a home should offer comfort, safety and belonging.

And this is where Makaton comes in.

The Makaton method

Makaton is a unique language program that incorporates signs and symbols as a way to communicate with one another. It offers a foundation from which adults and children can become empowered as they travel their own path towards the use of speech. It has been noted that the signs will gradually reduce in a natural fashion as speech becomes the main method of communication.

Makaton has proved of immense value to people with:

• Autism
• Down’s Syndrome
• Global developmental delay
• Verbal dyspraxia
• Cleft lip and palate
• Multi-sensory impairment

Put simply, Makaton is pretty incredible!

If we consider the scope of how we communicate with one another, it quickly becomes apparent that speech is only one aspect among many.

Hand movements, facial expressions, gestures, body language, and eye contact all have a role to play, and if we also consider that from our first moments in life, we will communicate via all these alternatives prior to speech, then it is clear that the potential for Makaton to crack open the shell for those struggling to make themselves heard, is huge.

And the shells have begun to crack.

Makaton has made a significant, and wonderful impact upon the lives of over 100,000 adults and children living in the UK, and over 1 million people worldwide.

And it is about opening the door to the little things in life that are taken for granted by so many of us. It is the ability to share the little wins each day might bring that would otherwise be lost to the passage of time, it is sharing feelings and worries and joy and all the bits that live between the lines of every day.

Makaton is also about feeling included, about being a part of something and being able to share in that. A tool for understanding and to be understood, and ultimately find your own voice on a perpetually noisy planet.

It is a tool for development that helps adults and children improve their attention, looking and listening skills whilst also building a foundation for lifelong communication and literacy skills.

Many schools have adopted Makaton and teach it as a means to engage with one another. Family members, carers and health professionals are using Makaton every day to help bridge a gap in communication that once seemed insurmountable.

How to use Makaton

If you’re keen to see how you might begin to use Makaton, visit The Makaton Charity to find out more.

Everyone has a voice, everyone has a story to tell, everyone has experiences to share, Makaton has the key to begin unlocking the door to greater communication.