Makaton, signing and communication

Ever had questions like…

• What is the difference between Makaton and British Sign Language?

• How do you communicate to a child who uses Makaton if you don’t know any signs?

• How do you learn Makaton?

• Can using Makaton to communicate slow down speech development?

• When did we start using Makaton with Oriana?

• Is it just for hearing impaired children?

Below, I'll be going through the answers to your general Makaton questions. There is also a video where I talk specifically about our experience of using Makaton with Oriana, and how it works for us as a family. If you know Ori wears a hearing aid, you may assume we use Makaton because Oriana has mild to moderate hearing loss, but actually we would have used Makaton regardless as we already knew what a valuable tool it could be for communication.

To keep things short and sweet, here are some bullet points on BSL:

• It is a FULL language, used within the deaf community

• For many people in the deaf community, BSL is their first language, and they do not need to use verbal speech alongside this.

• It is not a universal language - it is specific to Britain. Other countries use different sign language.

And now bullet points on Makaton:

• Makaton is not a proper language, but is a kind of ‘language system’. Makaton is actually trademarked, and languages cannot be trademarked..

• Makaton is a great tool for language and speech acquisition, but then may often be dropped as the child/person develops their speech.

• It is used alongside spoken language - so you would say the word as you sign the word. Typically most of your sentence would be spoken, with the key words being signed to convey the meaning of the sentence and support the spoken words. So if I was to ask Oriana “what do you want to eat?” I would usually only sign ‘want’ and ‘eat’ as I say this.

• It is not universal - other countries have different variations of the signs and symbols.

• Some of the signs used in Makaton are the same or similar to BSL, but someone who uses Makaton probably would not understand someone who uses BSL to communicate - BSL is much more rich and complex as it is a full language. Other signs in Makaton are taken from copying what your action would be for that word.

• Makaton is simple to learn/use and covers the most frequently used words from everyday speech.

• Can often be used to support children with learning difficulties or delayed communication.

• Can also be used with ‘typically developing’ children - research shows that it helps with speech development and does not slow it down as some parents fear (I think some people worry that by giving your children signs to communicate with, they may use that instead of speech).

If you know a child uses Makaton/ signing to aid their communication and you don't know any signs, please don't let this put you off talking to them! Use facial expressions, speak clearly and not too quickly, and they will probably understand more than you think! Even if they don't, they will no doubt appreciate the interaction and you are helping them be exposed to even more conversation and spoken language which is great.

I hope this answers some of the basic questions around Makaton. If you want to learn how to introduce it in your family, or where we learn our signing, then watch my Youtube video where I share as much as I can about our signing experience. I show you a few basic signs too to get you started! If you follow me on Instagram don't forget there is also a highlight on my page where I share some signs with Oriana.