Dear Sir,
Those who face the challenges of disability must have been encouraged by the article ‘Desegregating Disability’ (en March). The suggestion to encourage members of our congregations to learn British Sign Language (BSL) to make our services more inclusive and as a means of outreach to the deaf community is wonderful. However, BSL is a complex language and few people within our congregations would manage to become proficient.
While it is not a substitute for BSL, Makaton (as used by Mr Tumble on BBC TV!) is a language programme that uses simple signs to support spoken language, and the entire church membership can quickly learn to communicate on a basic level and to sign simple worship songs. Many people, such as my little grandson, have learning difficulties and can only communicate through Makaton signing. He is so happy when someone can recognise what he is trying to say! Many Christians become socially and spiritually isolated when they can no longer effectively communicate.
