4MyChild: Help and Hope for Life

July 27, 2007

Makaton Language Development and Sign Language for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Makaton is a popular program used with children with cerebral palsy that are having trouble with communication. The program starts the family off using pictures, symbols and sign language with the aim to have speech take over.

From the Makaton Site:

This might surprise you, as you would perhaps think that signing would prevent speech developing. But research suggests very strongly that this is not the case. In fact the opposite occurs, as signing seems to positively encourage speech development. Many hundreds of thousands of children and adults have been helped significantly in this manner.

Many families of children with cerebral palsy have found the technique extremely useful and a better solution than sole use of communication boards.
Have you had experience with this program? Please share your success (or not!) with us. Just post in the comments section!

Find out more about therapies and treatments for children with cerebral palsy.