When the team at Swanton Community Services – Tyne and Wear began exploring how to better support Smera with her communication, they quickly realised they had a brilliant teacher right in front of them — Smera herself.
Smera kindly joined Suki, Regional Learning and Development Lead, and her staff team for a Makaton training session, helping the team learn some recognised Makaton signs — as well as her own unique signs that she uses every day to express herself.
During the training, the team covered a variety of signs, guided by Smera’s input and lived experience. She said that having staff who understand Makaton “will help her to communicate,” and her involvement made the session incredibly meaningful for everyone involved.
Registered Manager Stephanie Fallowfield explained how the session came about: “The training was set up after we identified that Smera was using signs to communicate, but staff weren’t always understanding them. This led to frustration for her. As someone familiar with Makaton, I recognised that some of her signs were her own unique adaptations — and I felt her input was vital.”
There was no one better to guide the team than Smera herself, who demonstrated how she signs key words and emotions in her own way. Her involvement helped staff understand not just the signs, but the importance of adapting their approach to meet individual communication styles.
“There’s no one else who could have taught the team how to understand Smera’s communication like she did,” said Stephanie. “It was such a valuable experience for everyone.”
The team responded with real enthusiasm, and now use both Makaton and Smera’s personal signs every day — helping to reduce frustration and build stronger, more responsive communication.
“It was amazing to see Smera smiling and laughing during the session,” Stephanie shared. “She found it really engaging, especially when staff got signs wrong while practising! It was such a positive, confidence-building moment for her.”
To recognise her fantastic contribution, Smera was awarded a Leaps and Bounds award from Swanton Care — celebrating the confidence, communication, and leadership she showed during the training.
“She’s accessing the community daily now and building fantastic relationships with her staff,” added Stephanie. “Her session has had such a positive impact that we now plan to invite more people we support to be part of future training. It really reflects our inclusive, person-led approach.”
“Thank you to Smera for being so patient and for helping us learn how to better support her — we’re all incredibly proud.”
Well done to Smera and the whole team for such a brilliant example of person-led support and collaborative learning.
What is Makaton?
Makaton is a language programme that uses signs, symbols and speech to support people with communication difficulties. It helps individuals express themselves, understand others, and feel more included in daily life. Many people adapt signs to suit their own needs — just like Smera — making it even more important for those around them to learn and respond to their unique way of communicating.
