It made him laugh

Liam Shephard, 16, was born with Pierre Robin sequence, which means he had a small jaw, short tongue and a full cleft palate.

His mother, Sue Shephard, tells his story:

"Liam had three repairs on his palate: his tongue and jaw caught up as he grew. He never talked, just grunted, so we had a teacher come in twice a week when he was about three years old, to teach him Makaton.

"When he was four years old, he started at a special school and they use Makaton a lot, so he picked up a lot of signs. Liam's speech is progressing slowly but steadily: he can now speak a few words, though his vocabulary is limited but improving. He's now in his last year at school.

"I wanted him to join the scouts, so I went to see the scout leader to explain his situation, and that he uses Makaton. She said it wasn't a problem, and that she would arrange for the scout leaders to go on a course to learn Makaton, which I thought was brilliant.

"Liam started scouts when he was 11, and he loved it. Especially when the scout leaders were able to communicate with him but the other scouts didn't know what they are saying. It made him laugh. He's left the scouts now, but helps out on social nights that we have.

"I am a cub scout leader and we have a communication weekend called JOTA (jamboree on the air) where we teach/show different forms of communication. I teach basic Makaton and finger spelling: Liam likes to come along to help out.

"Using Makaton is fun. When we are out and there are a lot of people about, as long as Liam is looking at me, we can sign to each other. And although he doesn't use Makaton as much as he used to, he still knows quite a few signs."

October 2011