Welcome to My Diary of a Makaton Tutor

A personal journey through training, communication, and connection

Welcome to Diary of a Makaton Trainer — a space where I’ll be sharing my real-life experiences delivering Makaton training, along with practical tips, useful signs, and reflections from the field.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, support worker, in another professional role or completely new to Makaton, this blog is here to support you in building confidence and improving communication with the people you work with and care for.

📝 This Week in My Diary

This week has been a great example of just how diverse and impactful Makaton training can be across different settings.

I had the opportunity to deliver an in-person Makaton Workshop for Nursing at Weston General Hospital. It was incredibly rewarding to work directly with healthcare professionals who are so committed to improving communication with their patients. We explored how Makaton can be used in hospital settings to reduce anxiety, support understanding, and give patients a voice—especially those with communication difficulties.

Alongside this, I also delivered online training for Achieve Together, a supported living organisation that works with individuals across the UK. Delivering training virtually brings its own challenges, but it’s amazing to see how engaged and passionate staff are about learning Makaton to better support the people they work with every day.

To round off the week, I led a Makaton for Early Years Settings workshop at Herons Moor Academy. Early years practitioners are in such a powerful position to shape communication from the very beginning, and it was fantastic to share simple, effective ways to introduce Makaton into daily routines with young children.

Each of these experiences reminded me that Makaton isn’t limited to one environment—it’s a tool that can transform communication everywhere.

✋ Signs of the Week

Here are three simple and highly useful Makaton signs that came up across all of my training sessions this week, you can view demonstrations of how to find these on my youtube channel.

1. Help

Used to request assistance. This is one of the most empowering signs to teach, as it allows individuals to express a need without frustration.

2. More

Perfect for encouraging communication, especially with children or individuals at early stages of language development.

3. Finished

A really helpful sign for transitions—letting someone know an activity has ended can reduce anxiety and support understanding.

Try introducing these signs into your daily routine and model them consistently alongside speech.

💡 Tips for Using Makaton in Different Settings

Based on this week’s sessions, here are a few practical tips:

• Keep it consistent – Use the same signs regularly so they become familiar and meaningful

• Use alongside speech – Always say the word as you sign it

• Start small – You don’t need to learn everything at once—focus on key everyday signs

• Make it relevant – Choose signs that are useful in your specific setting (home, classroom, healthcare, etc.)

  
  

🌱 Reflection

What stood out to me this week was how quickly Makaton can build connection.

Whether it was a nurse learning how to reassure a patient, a support worker finding a new way to communicate, or an early years practitioner introducing signs through play—each moment reinforced why this work matters.

Makaton isn’t just about signs and symbols. It’s about inclusion, understanding, and giving people a way to express themselves.

👉 Try This This Week

Choose just one sign—such as help, more, or finished—and use it consistently every day.

Notice how people respond, and how it supports understanding and interaction.

💬 Let’s Connect

I’d love to hear from you—are you using Makaton in your setting? Are you just getting started?

Feel free to share your experiences or questions in the comments, and follow along for weekly posts filled with tips, stories, and practical support.