But don't forget that the immense majority of these signs have been "borrowed" (taken and then trademarked) from BSL, the language of the Deaf community in the UK. Nevertheless, I am using the name "Makaton" as it is gaining popularity and in essential its idea is very useful: to sign the key words of the spoken language while you speak, and sometimes with simplified versions of the signs.
But don't forget that the immense majority of these signs have been "borrowed" (taken and then trademarked) from BSL, the language of the Deaf community in the UK. Nevertheless, I am using the name "Makaton" as it is gaining popularity and in essential its idea is very useful: to sign the key words of the spoken language while you speak, and sometimes with simplified versions of the signs.
On the updated edition of this course I have explained in detail why children with ASD struggle with language, with some of them never acquiring a flexible form of language (a system that can be used flexibly to communicate). Makaton and signs in general are used a lot in schools to support children with ASD and I hope that this course will help you to help and develop your child's language, adding richness to their vocabulary and their ability to communicate with others about what they want and what they want to say about the world.
Using Makaton is quite similar to using Sing Supported English. The difference between using a sign language like BSL and using signs with learners who have communication difficulties lies in the complexity of what you say and that in a sign language you use a visual grammar, different to the spoken grammar, this is, the word order is different than in the spoken language. When we use signs to communicate with children or adults who have communication difficulties, we can do it alongside English or a visual communication system like the ones copyrighted by THe Makaton Charity or others like Widgit. In those cases, we normally use simple sentences that follow the structure of the spoken language. That is the essential difference between Makaton and Sign Language.
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