What is Makaton?

What does Makaton involve?

Makaton uses speech, signs and symbols and has been shown to help adults and children who have communication difficulties. The Makaton vocabulary is designed to provide signs and/or symbols for the everyday needs and events that occur for us all.

Makaton is taught to both the individual with the communication difficulty and to parents, carers, professionals and others. Using Makaton promotes equal opportunities for the individual with a communication need. The more people who learn it, the greater the inclusiveness for the Makaton user.

Is your Organisation Makaton Friendly?

The Makaton Friendly scheme is designed to recognise organisations or businesses that currently use Makaton in a simple, informal way to make Makaton users feel welcome and enable them to access services within their community. For example, this could be a cafe, a church, or a leisure centre. By providing a supportive and welcoming communication environment and using some meaningful Makaton signs and symbols you could be nominated for the Makaton Friendly award.