Am just back from a basic makaton course - found it really helpful. Although I knew a lot of the basic - it was really individual - in that I focused on words that were significant to dd1. It also made me realise that she is doing really well compared to what I originally thought.
She is now saying words of sorts - but you can construct meaning - 'shoes', 'socks' and this week - 'nose' and 'ears' - with relevant actions.
It was also interesting to find out how makaton came about and how it was then brought to Australia and how it changed since it has come here.