Editing Makaton (section)

==Development==
Original research was conducted by  Margaret Walker in 1972/73,<ref name=w>Walker, M (1977) Teaching Sign Language to Deaf Mentally Handicapped Adults (A Practical Account and an Experimental Evaluation) in IMS Conference Proceedings 3, Language and the Mentally Handicapped (pp3-25) [[Kidderminster]]: British Institute of Mental Handicap</ref> and resulted in the design of the Makaton Core Vocabulary based on functional need. This research was conducted with institutionalised deaf cognitively impaired adults resident at Botleys Park Hospital in [[Chertsey]], Surrey (which closed in 2008). The aim was to enable them to communicate using signs from [[British Sign Language]].<ref name="Grove Walker 1990"/><ref name="Byler 2007">{{cite journal|last1=Byler| first1=Judy Kay|title=The Makaton Vocabulary: An Analysis based on Recent Research| journal=British Journal of Special Education| volume=12|issue=3| year=2007|pages=109–116| doi=10.1111/j.1467-8578.1985.tb00622.x}}</ref><ref name="Walker 1981">{{cite journal |vauthors=Walker M, Armfield A |title=What is the Makaton vocabulary? |journal=Spec Educ Forward Trends |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=19–20 |date=September 1981 |pmid=6458105 }}</ref> Fourteen deaf and cognitively impaired adults participated in the pilot study, and all were able to learn to use manual signs; improved behaviour was also noted.<ref name="Grove Walker 1990"/> Shortly after, the Core Vocabulary was revised to include both children and adults with severe communication difficulties (including individuals who could hear), and was used in many schools throughout Britain in order to stimulate communication and language.<ref name="Grove Walker 1990"/><ref name="Byler 2007"/><ref name="Walker 1981"/>

In the early stages of development, Makaton used only speech and manual signs (without symbols).<ref name="Grove Walker 1990"/> By 1985, work had begun to include graphic symbols in the Makaton Language Programme and a version including graphic symbols was published in 1986.<ref name ="Grove Walker 1990"/> The Core Vocabulary was revised in 1986 to include additional cultural concepts.

The Makaton Vocabulary Development Project was founded in 1976 by Margaret Walker, who worked in a voluntary capacity as director until her retirement in October 2008. The first Makaton training workshop was held in 1976 and supporting resources and further training courses were, and continue to be, developed. In 1983 the Makaton Vocabulary Development Project became a charitable trust, and in 2007 it changed its status to become the Makaton Charity.<ref name="Grove Walker 1990"/><ref name="Byler 2007"/>