Carers at our Lewisham branch have been given training in the use of Makaton, a simplified form of communication commonly used by people with learning disabilities or limited verbal communication.

Victoria Taylor, Lewisham’s Branch Manager, recently visited the newest addition to the Eleanor Healthcare Group – Smerdon Day Centre.

She was joined by three of her Lewisham care workers to allow them to gain some more knowledge of working with people with learning difficulties and receive Makaton training, which involves the communication using simple pictures and images.

She said: “It gave our carers a chance to learn something new and gain experience in working with people with learning difficulties. It was a great day and the service users were very welcoming.”

Makaton is an extremely flexible system that can be personalised to each individual’s needs and is used by more than 100,000 children and adults to communicate.

At Eleanor we are committed to providing a wide range of training to our staff, from basic care skills to advanced communication techniques, such as Makaton.