Learning Makaton at Lickhill Road

At Lickhill Road(Calne) we are now going to be learning two Makaton signs each month to support the children’s communication.

What is Makaton?

Makaton is the sign language designed to support spoken language – signs are used with speech, in spoken word order to help children and adults to communicate. Using signs can help children who have no speech (either because they have communication difficulties or are very young) or whose speech is unclear. Many children’s understanding develops ahead of their speech. This can leave them feeling frustrated as they might know what they want but not be able to express it, which can lead to tantrums. Using signing can help empower them to express what they want to say and alleviate frustration.

We are already using some Makaton signs at our nursery and we feel we are ready to develop this so that we can support the children’s language and communication even further. It has been proven that when used with speech; Makaton signing supports the development of language and communication. The first two signs of the month which we will be starting with in December are ‘Finished’ and ‘More’.

If you have any thoughts, questions or ideas that you would like to tell us about or ask for some more information about Makaton please speak to your child’s Key Person or Tracey.