Care Opinion’s Picture Supported Stories

Talking Mats were delighted to be involved in the launch of Care Opinion’s Picture Supported stories at the Life Changes Trust Gathering in Perth Scotland this week. We have been working with Care Opinion for the past two years to develop this feature.  This earlier Talking Mats blog describes the development process and this recent Care Opinion blog gives some examples of the feature in use.

However, in this blog,  I want to reflect on two events I went to within a short space of time; the gathering in Perth on Monday and the Royal College of Speech and Language  Therapists study day the previous thursday in Stirling . It felt to me like my two worlds colliding or maybe it was just my stars aligning ! At the RCSLT study there was a session on the public perception of Speech and Language therapy and how there is still much work to do in changing the myths that are spun and repeated about what Speech and Language therapists actually do . For as John F Kennedy said in 1962 ‘ the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie but the myth , persistent, persuasive and unrealistic ´ The  National  Allied Health Professional  children’s lead, Pauline  Beirne suggested to the study day that Care Opinion is a great web site for encouraging that sharing of stories. Then, strangely when I got back into the office there was a story waiting for me in my in box all about the positive experience of a parent involved in a Hanen programme in NHS Lanarkshire  which reinforced that very message.

We know people relate to stories, stories resonate and have impact, they are easy to remember .  Our drive in working in partnership with Care opinion was to support more people to tell their health and care stories  by increasing accessibility . It was designed with and for people with dementia   through funding from Life Changes Trust but anyone can use it and they are! It is great to see the stories coming in.

Through stories let’s celebrate the good, develop and improve practice and let’s use stories to challenge myths and educate. So use Care Opinion and try out the  picture supported stories to share your experiences , tell other people ,spread the word and the picture supported story feature  !