Makaton Friendly DJ Jay Entertainer

My name is Jake Glennon. Since the age of 12 I have been running events as DJ Jay Entertainer. I am the youngest DJ in the UK, and I recently became the first Makaton Friendly DJ.

What inspired me to learn Makaton?

My cousin Alice is 12, she has Down’s syndrome and is a Makaton user. Last year we were on a family holiday and at the evening entertainment I could see that Alice didn’t understand what the entertainers were saying. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t being given the chance to go up on stage, or win a prize. As the evening went on she got more and more upset.

I don’t want children to feel like this at my parties and events. I want everyone to feel included, so I decided to attend a Makaton workshop so I could learn Makaton properly.

I attended a Foundation Workshop and a special overview Workshop for Party Entertainers, which I helped select the vocabulary for. I enjoyed meeting the other participants and discussing how both signs and symbols can be used.

I was very proud to receive my Makaton Friendly status and I recently attended a Positive Choices conference at Trinity College Dublin, for student nurses supporting people with learning disabilities.

I attended with my cousin Alice and her mum Amanda (a Regional Tutor from IT Matters CIC ).

I ran workshops demonstrating how I use Makaton at my events, the message being if I can learn Makaton to support my events surely they too can learn Makaton to support people like Alice when in their care, when patients are at their most anxious and vulnerable. I hope I inspired them!



I have put together this footage of the trip  - please watch and share the message. This is me! - thank you.


Jake Glennon
DJ Jay Entertainer


Reproduced with the kind permission of Jake Glennon and Amanda Glennon.
Many thanks for pointing this talented young man out to us Helen Laverty.
Original blog can be found here.