Over the last term, children at St Margaret’s Church of England Academy have been learning Makaton as a way of communicating without barriers, building confidence and helping to develop speech.
Makaton uses gestures and symbols as its main method of communication; it is designed to help people with limited speech and those who struggle to sign express themselves more easily. With a combination of body language and facial expressions, Makaton is most often used by people diagnosed with autism, Down’s syndrome and developmental language disorders.
The children have loved exploring a new way to communicate with each other, having learned phrases like ‘My name is…’ and several famous nursery rhymes, including Twinkle, Twinkle and Sing a Rainbow. They plan to learn a full song in Makaton next!
JOHN 15:5
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