We are delighted to have received funding from Life Changes Trust to work with Patient Opinion to help improve the access to their website by developing a Talking Mats to enable people to tell their stories.

Like Talking Mats, Patient Opinion is a Social Enterprise and has an excellent independent website https://www.patientopinion.org.uk/  that enables people to share their experiences of UK health services, good or bad. They then pass the stories to the right people so that they can learn from them.

The project we are working on is focusing on people with dementia but in the long run we hope that lots of people will benefit.  It will bring our two innovative technologies together marrying the expertise of the Patient Opinion website with that of the Digital Talking Mats.

Our aim is that people affected by dementia can use their own voice to share their experiences and make real differences to relationships, services and culture, just as many others are already doing across health and care. We also hope that this work will empower others with communication or cognitive difficulties to share their experiences and be heard in an open and transparent way.

This ground breaking work is being funded and supported by Life Changes Trust, People Affected by Dementia programme. The Big Lottery funded programme is committed to working with people living with dementia and those who care for them, investing resources so that individuals are more able to face the challenges before them, and can exercise more choice and control in their own lives.

We expect the project to take 18 months to complete and have already run focus groups with people with dementia, family members and expert practitioners to plan the new symbols. We are now working with the technical experts to create the website interface which we will then pilot with people with dementia.

Watch this space for more updates…..

Talking Mats was used as part of a Speech and Language therapy assessment  for a boy with a stammer (dysfluent speech).  He was very aware of his stammering and would change what he was going to say or avoid some situations because he anticipated that he would stammer. He had low self-esteem about his speech and felt that whenever anyone laughed in his class, it was to do with his stammer.

Talking Mats was used to gather information about which situations and  people made speaking easier, and any situations and particular people which caused more of a challenge.  The activity provided much more information than originally anticipated.

A starter mat was used  to show how a Talking Mat worked, using pictures of food. He engaged well with this, and understood the process quickly.  We then moved onto discussing his speech – we wrote names of people in his life and situations which involved speaking onto pieces of paper,  and he placed these on the mat where he felt appropriate.  We started with people and situations which appeared more positive, then gradually moved onto those it was anticipated would be more challenging.

His insight into his speech and what helped him or made speaking more difficult was impressive. We were able to use this information to compile a list of “Do’s and Don’t’s” for people he came into regular contact with. He agreed that this information could be shared with school to give them strategies to support him there.

The most powerful part of the Mat was him being able to say that he did not feel happy about talking with his big brother sometimes, because he could make fun of his speech, and this made him feel really upset. This was a powerful revelation for his Mum who had sat in on the session, as she had not realised he felt this way.    After the session, the family  had a chat around the table at tea-time about how his therapy session had gone that day – with Mum’s support he was able to say to his brother about how his teasing had made him feel. His older brother had thought it was all a bit of fun and hadn’t realised the impact it was having. They agreed the older brother wouldn’t tease him anymore.

When he came back for his next session, he commented on being much happier about his talking at home, and felt the activity had been really helpful. His Mum was very positive about it too, and proud of how he had managed to speak up for himself and be able to say how other people could help him with his talking.

Our thanks  to Kirsten Taylor, Speech and Language therapist for sharing this powerful story

We have an additional 2 new Talking Mats training venues – one in Liverpool on 21st April and the other in Dublin on 18th May.

Both courses combines hands on experience of Talking Mats with role-play, discussion and reflection of the use of both the original and digital version of the tool in a variety of real-life situations.

Here are a comments from people who have attended our training courses recently.

I thoroughly enjoyed the training. Found the mix of DVDs to see how it is done and the practical tasks to be well balanced.

Fantastic presenters – interesting and enjoyable training which I can take forward to enhance my practice in promoting effective communication and respecting service users wishes.

We know that to get the most benefit from Talking Mats it is best to combine our resources with a training course. The most cost effective way to undertake your training is to buy the training and a resource together. This way you can put your training into practice straight away and use Talking Mats to its full potential.

Combining with a resource means the training will cost you only £65.00! It’s a fantastic deal. To take advantage of this – click on your desired location below and select either the digital or original resource most suited to your client group to accompany your training.

Liverpool on 21st April

Dublin on 18th May

We are delighted to introduce Laura Holmes our first Regional Talking Mats Associate. She is joining the Talking Mats team and will be working in the North West of England. I will let Laura introduce herself:-

” Hi, I am a Speech and Language Therapist working in Stockport, Cheshire. I am delighted to be joining Talking Mats as the first Regional Associate, covering the North West of England. I work 1 day a week, term-time only for Talking Mats, as well as 3 days a week for the NHS. I am excited about developing awareness, understanding and use of Talking Mats across the area, within the context of the SEND reforms in particular, over the next few months. I feel Talking Mats is a very effective way of truly capturing the voices of the children and young people I work with. The Talking Mats approach also links well with the use of Therapy Outcome Measures, which I am currently trialling with my caseload.  I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences to facilitate wider use of this versatile approach across the North West region.”

It is great to have Laura working with us to build on some of the excellent work being done already in the North West. Two examples of best practice are in Wigan where Talking Mats are used to increase child participation and more recently in Salford. Children’s services in Salford NHS foundation trust are committed to seeking the views of children and young people about how they feel about their health appointments. They have finished piloting their own Talking Mats set and the revised set has just been sent to the printers – it looks great.

We are running a training course in Liverpool on the 21st April and we would love to meet more of you from the North West.

What are the top 10 blogs for using Talking Mats with adults? Over the years we have posted lots of blogs on different aspects of our framework . If you are working with adults with communication disability these blogs maybe particularly helpful

1. Where is the best place to start using the Talking Mats health and well-being resource? 
2. A blog from Denmark which highlights the effectiveness of using Talking Mats with people with dementia
3. Goal setting with a woman with Multiple sclerosis  
4. Using the  app with someone with aphasia 
5. The development of a resource to help people with learning disability raise concerns 
6. How can Talking Mats support Capacity to make decisions
7.  Involving  people in their decisions about eating and drinking 
8. Thoughts on using Talking Mats with people with dementia to explore mealtimes 
9. Using Talking Mats with someone with a learning disability and dementia
10. Use  in a rehab setting in South Africa 

If you want to explore our  resource and training more  please visit our shop

We have several significant Talking Mats changes this month – in our Website, our Shop and the Digital Talking Mat

Shop:
Visit our new shop for information about our full range of products. There is now have a much improved journey to make it easier for customers wanting to buy training and resources.  http://www.talkingmats.com/shop/

Digital Talking Mats:

Following a process of integrating feedback from our customers Phase 2 of the Digital Talking Mat (DTM) is now complete. The features include:

• Easy access to a wide range of symbol sets relating to health and well-being, structured in thematic groups. The design means you cannot lose or mix the symbols up.
• An intuitive design which automatically prompts the user through the Talking Mat framework
• An ability to import relevant photos or images from your camera role or web to personalise the mats or create sub-mats.
• A secure log on to protect confidentiality
• Storage of previous mats on the internal DTM filing system allows reflection and progress evaluation
• Facility to email completed mat, additional comments and action plan directly to relevant team members.

Our customers have told us that a subscription model is challenging for organisations to manage so we have shifted to a one off purchase. We understand that organisations will require their staff to have more than one log on and we have a scheme to allow you to do that at a significantly reduced cost. Click here to see how multiple digital logons can be bought DTM Organisational Logon

Customers using the DTM are excited by its easy to use design and time efficient solution to person centred intervention.

To see the Digital Talking Mats in Action click here

If you would like to read more please follow the links to some of our blogs:

Using the app to develop EHC plans
http://www.talkingmats.com/ehc-plans-with-the-talking-mats-app/

Adding photos to personalise the mats
http://www.talkingmats.com/adding-photos-to-your-digital-talking-mat/

eHealth Good Practice Case Study
http://www.ehealth.nhs.scot/case-studies/talking-mats-nhs-forth-valley/?platform=hootsuite

We are very grateful to Anna Volkmer for sending us this blog, Lets Talk about Capacity…
She has just had an excellent book published –  Dealing with Capacity and Other Legal Issues with Adults with Acquired Neurological Conditions http://www.jr-press.co.uk/dealing-capacity-legal-issues.html. In it she describes how AAC methods, including Talking Mats, can be used to support people in expressing their decisions.

Prior to 1959 people who were considered “non-compus mentis” were cared for under the “parens patriae” principle. Literally translated this meant that they were ‘parents of the country’ and decisions to protect them and their property were made by the Crown (the Lord Chancellor). These people were often described as “Chancery Lunatics”. In 1959 the “parens patriae” jurisdiction gave way to the Mental Health Act. This Act instructed that “the judge may, with respect to the property and affairs of a patient, do or secure the doing of all such things as appear necessary or expedient…for making provision for other persons or purposes for whom or which the patient might be expected to provide were he not mentally disordered” (section 102 (1)(c)). Unfortunately, this Act did not make adequate provision for non-financial decisions such as medical decisions. During this period it was case law that guided professionals in supporting their patients who lacked capacity in medical decision making. It was not until 2005 that the first Mental Capacity Act was given Royal Assent, accompanied by the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice in 2007.

I returned to the UK from a 5-year stint working in Melbourne, Australia, just after the Mental Capacity Act had been published. Mental capacity was on the tip of everyone’s tongues and as the speech and language therapist working on a multi-disciplinary team I became an integral part of this process. Patients I was seeing, often people with primary progressive aphasia or other types of dementia, were asking about how to make future decisions. They and their families were keen to understand how the mental capacity act worked, how to prepare for the future and how to have their voices heard. On the other side of the coin I was working on an inpatient ward where staff were concerned about ensuring we were fully assessing the decision making capacity of people with cognitive and communication difficulties, often holding best interest discussion to plan for the future of these individuals. Many of these decisions related to dysphagia, but others related to accommodation and finances.

What concerned me was the lack of evidence available across the speech and language therapy arena in this area. There was little to none in terms of written research, let alone written advice or even examples of good practice tailored to speech and language therapy clinicians. As I asked around I found an enormous disparity in the services that speech and language therapy clinicians were providing across different trusts. I had previously written a book on dementia, and had included a chapter on assessments of decision-making. At this stage some of the only research related to communication and decision-making had come from Talking Mats. This had demonstrated that using the talking mats tools can support families and caregivers in conversations with their loved ones when discussing decisions to be made. They found that conversation enabled people in understanding, retaining and expressing themselves in decision-making discussions.

Following a particular stimulating discussion with the publishers at J&R press, they invited me to submit a book proposal on this topic. As I was developing this idea I found the topic of mental capacity was raised more and more often at study days and seminars I attended. At these study days I started linking in with more like minded speech and language therapists such as Mark Jayes, Hannah Luff and Claire Devereux. These were clinicians who all agreed on the diversity of our potential role in supporting our patients around mental capacity issues. These common interests enabled a collaboration. Our book is now published.

Through these connections I became aware of other work being done; Mark Jayes holds a NIHR doctoral fellowship award and is conducting research in the development of a communication and capacity assessment tool kit. Claire Devereux is the chair of the Southern Psychiatry of Old Age Clinical Excellence Network, together we have held a workshop with the clinical specialists where we developed a consensus document on role of the speech and language therapist in capacity assessment. This is to be published in Bulletin magazine later this year. Hannah Luff is a clinical lead speech and language therapist at South London and the Maudsley NHS Trust and is currently a member of the review panel looking at the NICE SCIE dementia guidelines.

The wonders and value of networking never ceases to delight, enthuse and inspire me! And you can purchase our book at the following website (there is currently a discount rate until 21^st February):

http://www.jr-press.co.uk/dealing-capacity-legal-issues.html

You can follow me on my blog https://annavolkmersbigphdadventure.wordpress.com/ or on twitter @volkmer_anna

Following the success of previous seminars we are holding further specialist seminars in Stirling and London for anyone who has done the Talking Mats training. The topics will be:

• Talking Mats and the Eating and Drinking resource (morning)
• Talking Mats and Capacity (afternoon)

During the Eating and Drinking seminar, we provide background on how and why the resource was developed and showed some DVD examples of people using the resource. This really brings things to life and shows how important it is to give people (with and without speech) the opportunity to consider and talk about different aspects of eating and drinking. We also give people hands-on practice in using the symbols from each topic. Each participant will receive a copy of the full Eating and Drinking resource, including symbols, a mat, and explanatory booklet.

During the Capacity seminar we will discuss the fundamental principles of the Capacity Act and participants will have a chance to consider how Talking Mats can help people to:

• understand
• retain/remember
• weigh up information
• communicate their views/wishes and feelings.

They will also be given the opportunity to work through some practical examples and think about options to help people understand issues and make decisions.

If you have completed a Talking Mats training course and would like to attend either of specialist seminars, please click on the relevant course and fill in the registration form.

Stirling on Friday 29th April Stirling Seminars flier Apr 2016
London on Friday 10th June London Seminars flier June 2016
Registration form Seminar registration form 2016

Do you want a part time, time limited opportunity to work for Talking Mats based in the North West of England? We are appointing an  External Associate to extend access to resources and training in this part of the country. We would like this person to

• generate interest and business in the North West of England in Talking Mats with a focus on children and young people, particularly the promotion of the use of Talking Mats in the SEND(Special Educational Needs and Disability) reforms
• work with Talking Mats to promote a marketing seminar in the North West
• work with Talking Mats to run training and establish a base for a North West training programme
• increase sales in Talking Mats in the North West of England

If you have extensive experience of using Talking Mats to allow children and  young person to have a voice particularly in their education, health and care plans and are passionate about extending the reach of this framework to a range of services then please consider whether this opportunity maybe right for you. We are looking for someone with initiative ,enthusiasm for the role of Talking Mats, good local professional networks and great communication and networking skills.

Please down load the person spec, project role and how to apply here Talking Mats External Associate
Closing date is the 28th Feb with interview scheduled for the 7th March .if you want to discuss further then please phone the Talking Mats office and ask to speak with either Lois or Margo.

We are very grateful to  Kristine Pedersen from Kommunikationscentret in Denmark for sharing the findings of 2 projects with us.  The first project found Talking Mats was effective in supporting communication for people who have dementia when compared with both unstructured and structured conversations.

‘t is important to know how to give people with dementia the right support’

At Kommunikationscentret in Hillerød (Denmark), we have been using the Talking Mats framework since our first trainer was accredited at the Talking Mats Centre, University of Stirling in 2010. We have been using Talking Mats with both children and adults across a range of communication difficulties e.g. caused by Aphasia, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, learning difficulties etc. Inspired by the important research project by Dr. Joan Murphy and others ‘Decision making with people with dementia’ (2010), our next step was to gain our own experience within the framework specifically aimed towards people with dementia.

As in the rest of the world, the number of people in Denmark with dementia is increasing. Symptoms of dementia vary from person to person but many of the symptoms are related to communication: Difficulties finding words, using familiar words repeatedly, losing track in conversation, difficulties in focusing and paying attention etc. The growing dependence of the person with dementia on a caregiver makes communication essential to express wishes and needs. Therefore, it makes sense to look at the consequences of the illness (dementia) within the perspective of communication and how family members and professionals around the person with dementia can support communication using AAC.

The purpose of the first project  was to compare the communication in conversations about views on I) Daily activities and II) The importance of information, using three different communication methods.   The methods were: 1) unstructured conversation 2) structured conversation 3) the Talking Mats framework. The project involved 6 participants having early to moderate stage dementia, all living in residential care homes.

Like the study ‘Decision making with people with dementia’ (2010), the report concludes that the Talking Mats method was associated with better communication for the majority of the participants. The Talking Mats framework was found especially helpful regarding the participant’s ability to understand subject and question of the conversation, the participant’s ability to reflect, and the participant’s ability to make themselves understood. The graph below shows that only one participant (A1) did not benefit from the visual method. She had poor eyesight, which strongly indicates that visual support compensates the difficulties that people with dementia have.

The report also concludes that the Talking Mats framework increases the interviewer’s ability to detect and compensate for some of the communication difficulties. Finally, it seemed that several of the participants have been able to learn how to use Talking Mats in the process.

The photo underneath shows a Talking Mat conversation from the project. This Talking Mat gives an insight into how this person feels about what information is important to her, and what isn’t. It is in some way a difficult and abstract question, but most of the participants managed to both understand, reflect and answer the question when we used the Talking Mats framework.

Important information to this participant is information about new neighbours, the menu at the residential care home, economy etc. Less important is news about the Danish royal family, technology, getting older etc. Politics is definitely not important to her.