ABOUT ME
My journey with Makaton started when my youngest child was diagnosed with a very rare chromosome condition. The condition is known to significantly impact speech development, so as parents we were keen to ensure we could provide our daughter with a means to communicate. Supported by family, Makaton has become an integral part of our lives, with all 3 children (aged 9, 6 and 4) using Makaton and our youngest now uses Makaton to support reading in school.
I have witnessed first-hand how having the ability to communicate and be understood minimises frustrations for our Makaton users. It also reduces the pressure and creates space for people to experiment with speech.
In 2020 I took a leap from a corporate role to be a full-time carer for our daughter and trained to become a Makaton tutor. After completing my training I launched HandMade Voices with the ambition to offer parents the support that I struggled to find early on our journey and share the benefits of Makaton within the community, to drive inclusion for all Makaton users.
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We cannot thank Emma enough for supporting the families at Shine21 with their Makaton journey.
Her dedication, passion and reasons for becoming a Makaton tutor are truly inspiring.
If you are looking for Makaton training I cannot recommend Emma enough.
We look forward to continuing our Makaton journey with you Emma.
Louise Mouncey - Chair of Trustees at Shine21
Thank you so much Emma, you made it interesting, relaxed, fun and we learnt so much!
What a great tutor!
Janet
I’ve just completed a Makaton Stage one course delivered by Emma from Handmade Voices via Zoom.
I was grateful it was a small group as I found it much easier to speak up and that built my confidence when practising my signing.
Emma was friendly, clear, helpful and encouraging, she ensured we were all able to see and hear her properly and match her pace, making adjustments when needed.
I really enjoyed the course and feel I’ve come out of it with a really good level of comprehension and ability to implement Makaton signing and symbols in to my daily routine with my children to support their needs.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the course to friends and family or health professionals, and would choose handmade voices if I decided to move on to the next stage of my learning.
Thank you Emma!
Leanne
Really enjoyed my training with Emma. Learning Makaton was a lot more fun than I thought!
We learnt about 150 signs and amazingly I can remember most of them. Emma's training was clear, calm and relatable through her personal stories.
I highly recommend Emma for Makaton training and I'm looking forward to doing my level two with her in the future.