Gesture, Sign Language & Makaton

Environment

Environment Non-Verbal Communication

Gesture

Sign Language

Language

Who Needs Sign Language?

1. Babies born with a profound or extremely severe hearing loss.

2. Very young babies who become profoundly deaf before the age when they would acquire speech / spoken language. Profound Hearing Loss Causes

1. An inherited condition – certain families carry specific genes.

2. Pre-natal damage during 1 – 4 months of pregnancy.

3. Perinatal damage at birth.

4. Very young babies who after birth through trauma or illness become profoundly deaf before they have acquired a memory of speech sounds and speech.

Frequencies for Speech Significant Difference between

(a) A child born with a profound loss :- - will not have any memory for sound - will grow up accepting soundlessness as normal - will adapt by using vision to replace hearing

whereas

(b) A child who early on acquires a profound loss will be able to hear some sounds. Incidence of Hearing Loss - UK (2011)

More than 10 million people have a Hearing Loss (1/6 of the population).

Of these approx 6.4 million retired people.

Approx 3.6 million of working age.

More than 800,000 people are severely or profoundly deaf will use Sign Language. Childhood Deafness UK (2011)

- More than 45,000 deaf children.

- Many more with temporary hearing loss (e.g. glue ear).

- At least half of the 45,000 have inherited deafness (80++ specific genes identified).

- Since MMR vaccine fewer babies born deaf. Deafened Adults in UK (2011)

150,000 Adults become profoundly deaf resulting from:

- trauma,

- infection, - ototoxic drugs i.e. toxic to ear, especially cochlea, or auditory nerve and sometimes vestibular system. Lip Reading

Finger Spelling

More About Sign Language

1. Unique language with unique semantic and syntactical (grammatical) rules.

2. Size of British Sign Language vocabulary.

3. Regional variations in signing.

4. Sign languages different in every country across the world, reflecting different cultures and lifestyles.

5. History of the evolution of Sign Language

BSL Grammar; Some Examples

- Directionality

- Placement

- Movement

- Concept of Time

- Spatial Concepts More About Sign Language

1. Unique language with unique semantic and syntactical (grammatical) rules.

2. Size of British Sign Language vocabulary.

3. Regional variations in signing.

4. Sign languages different in every country across the world, reflecting different cultures and lifestyles.

5. History of the evolution of Sign Language

MAKATON

Learning Disability

LearningLearning DisabilityDisability

(WHO Classification 1968)

(Assuming the mean is IQ = 100 & the standard deviation is 15)

IQ Range -- BorderlineBorderline 7070 –– 8585 -- MildMild 5050 –– 7070 -- ModerateModerate 3535 –– 5050 -- SevereSevere 2020 –– 3535 -- ProfoundProfound 00 -- 2020 Learning Difficulty

Incidence of Learning Disability (England 2011)

- 1,191,000 people with Learning Disability. ( just over I million out of 53 million, approx 2% )

- 905,000 Adults aged 18+ years. (530,000 Men & 375,000 Women)

- 286,000 Children, Aged 0 – 17 years. (180,000 Boys & 106,000 Girls)

- 4 out of 5 children have Moderate Learning Disability.

- 1 in 20 have profound Learning Disability.

- Parents of Children with severe and moderate Learning Disability come from all social classes, scattered throughout the general population.

Learning Disability: Other factors (2011)

- Less than 1 in 5 are in work. (65% would like to work)

- 1 in 3 have Education / Training.

- 50% of Adults live in Family Home.

- 28,000 Adults live with Parents who are 70+.

- 58,000 people are supported by Social Services.

- 1 in 2 Families with Children live in poverty.

- Many Young Offenders and Prisoners have Mild/Moderate Learning Disability. Causes of Learning Disability

- Genetic in origin

- Chromosomal abnormality e.g. Downs Syndrome.

- Trauma, infection during pregnancy, or at birth.

- About 1/3 of Children – no know cause Communication Assessment Results of BPH Residents

Residents Degree of LD Findings

1/4 of 1,300 Mild - Borderline Could understand and use everyday speech

Could understand simple speech related to everyday 1/4 of 1,300 Moderate routines & events & used /tried to use single words in response

1/4 of 1,300 Severe Showed understanding of basic speech but no expressive speech

1/4 of 1,300 Profound Did not respond to speech

Note: Some of the residents had additional disabilities e.g. physical disability, hearing loss, visual problems, mental health issues. Other Observations

Residents showed:-

- poor attention & listening skills.

- lack of interest in environment.

- were very distracted.

- poor memory retention.

- many unable to express needs & wants:- how they were feeling, e.g. happy/sad, unwell, in pain, uncomfortable, what they were thinking.

- unable to express preferences & choice.

- all staff communicated to residents with speech, They were also frustrated.

- often this led to disruptive behaviours from frustration, e.g. shouting, screaming, head banging, sometimes violence needing restraint.

- Government White Paper 1971 stated that 1 in 3 people with Learning Disability have communication problems.

Also this lack of any means of communication meant they were generally very vulnerable to abuse and this still applies today in family, community and hospital environments.

Responses to Assessment Findings

1. To find alternative method of communication to use with speech.

2. To decide to use signs from British Sign Language.

3. To compile a vocabulary of signs relevant to the lifestyle of the BPH Residents.

4. To evaluate this initiative to assess its value or not. Evaluation Results

- Every group resident learnt some signs.

- The lowest scorer understood 105 signs & used 57 signs.

- The highest scorer understood 110 signs & used 66 signs.

- The whole group used the signs they knew spontaneously, some as single signs, others in 2 – 3 sign phrases.

- Several of the group who had never spoken, began to speak single words.

- Everyone became more lively, attentive & sociable.

The selection of Core Vocabulary concepts seemed relevant.

Staff reported a reduction in disruptive behaviours. MAKATON

Margaret Kathy Tony Further Developments

- Makaton Symbols

- Makaton Resource Vocabulary

- New Technology

- Media Interest

Problems with the initiative taken

1. Concern from the Deaf Population.

2. Delay while other professionals carried out independent research to confirm my findings.

3. Parents concern.

4. Charity’s financial struggles.

5. Need to maintain integrity of MAKATON resources & training, especially from commercial sector.

What is Makaton?

A unique language programme comprising –

- Core Vocabulary (450 concepts)

- Resource Vocabulary (7,000+ concepts)

- Used with speech, signs and / or symbols (according to need)

- Flexible Teaching Methods Benefits of the Makaton Programme (1)

Signs

- Effective for comprehension Basic signs - pictographic

- Clarifies the meaning of speech

- Physically easy to make

- Economical

- Great fun

- Requires face to face interaction

Benefits of the Makaton Programme (2) Core Vocabulary

- Structure compatible with normal stages of communication development.

- Personalisation – Tailored to Child/Adult’s needs.

- Can go at own pace.

- Flexible: Concepts can be used as single concepts or small phrases within the structure of Core Vocabulary.

Concepts can be used as sign + symbol bank, e.g. literacy work

- Those with ability, start to speak and drop signs and symbols For more information

British Deaf Association (BDA) Head Office, 2nd Floor, 356 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PA Tel 020 7697 4140 email : [email protected] website: www.bda.org.uk

The Makaton Charity, Westmead House, Farnborough, GU14 7LP Tel 01276 606760 email; [email protected] website: www.makaton.org