by Laura Hearne, Senior Learning Support Assistant
During one of our monthly Community Cafés at Wingrave, a family arrived with three young pre-schoolers in tow. We served them with the cakes and drinks they had ordered and the children sat happily colouring in and taking in their surroundings.
How to say "thank you" - a new way
As the family were leaving there was a brief exchange and we showed the children how to use Makaton signs to communicate “thank you”. The whole family practiced and they left with not just one new sign, but one more way to communicate with those around them.
Later that day, when thanking all our café supporters on social media, the mum reached out to thank us for teaching the Makaton sign earlier that day.
Enabling community communication
It wasn’t until we were thinking of new ways to engage with our local community that our Intensive Interactions Mentor, Kate Boyer, remembered the exchange.
She came up with the idea of having some Makaton demonstrations during the Community Café sessions for anyone who wanted to learn more. This would be our way to give back to our community, providing them with new communication skills!
With the help of our Speech and Language Therapist, Zandra Mok, we produced a poster with four key Café signs, ready to demonstrate to our visitors.
Have a go at Makaton
The posters and signs will be used by our staff and the young people at the School. We are ready to share Makaton with whoever wishes to give it a go.
There is nothing to lose, but so much to gain!
Monthly Community Cafés
We run a Community Café every month at the MacIntyre School in Wingrave, near Aylesbury.
The next one is on Friday 20 September, 10:00 to 11:30. If you're in the area why not come along and enjoy some delicious cakes, refreshments and, of course, a new way of communicating.
