[2][4] The name "Makaton" is derived from the names of three members of the original teaching team at Botleys Park Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey: Margaret Walker (the designer of the programme and speech therapist at Botleys Park), Katherine Johnston and Tony Cornforth (psychiatric hospital visitors from the Royal Association for Deaf People).
[3] Original research was conducted by Margaret Walker in 1972/73,[8] 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).
[3][9][10] 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.
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.
[11] Makaton has also been adapted for use in over 40 countries, including France, Greece, Japan, Kuwait and the Gulf, Russia, South Africa and Switzerland.
A 2022 statement by the British Deaf Association decried the rapid growth of social media posts using "sign supported communication systems" such as Makaton and Signalong, emphasizing the limited nature of these non-languages.
[1] Scholarly critique of Makaton has included questioning of its methodology of sign selection and usage, and suggestions that the "teaching method and vocabulary structure were highly restrictive and, if not revised, might impede communication skill development with some children.