Talking Mats is at its heart a Person Centred approach and makes this abstract concept real for practitioners and accessible to more people.

The skills we teach in our training are core to its values:

• Being explicit about the purpose of the conversation
• Using open questions
• Affirmation
• Active Listening
• Personalising
• Summarising
• Clarification
• Acknowledging that this is the persons view today and it is likely to change with time

‘ To improve the lives of people with communication difficulties by increasing their capacity to communicate effectively about the things that matter to them’

Our  vision statement  matches what is quoted in the introduction of the new Core Skills framework ‘Person-Centred Approaches’ produced by  NHS Health Education England, Skills for Health and Skills for Care http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/news/latest-news/item/576-new-framework-to-promote-person-centred-approaches-in-healthcare

Talking Mats foundation training gives practitioners a tool to turn the values expressed in this powerful document into practice Read how one health authority made this a priority                         http ://www.talkingmats.com/person-centred-approach-to-health-planning

To support your organisation evidence they are using a Person Centred Approach look at our website www.talkingmats.com  or contact info@talkingmats.com

Talking Mats and Autism- Have you sometimes tried it and it didn’t work?

There is a growing interest in teaching TM to people with ASD. We know that some important adaptations might be required to make this a meaningful experience, and are keen to share our learning so far.

Being asked for thoughts or views can be difficult for some people with communication difficulties.  In particular, there is a group of people with autism where some of the core principles of Talking Mats have to be taught in stages.   Some thinkers will just ‘get it’ and find it a valuable tool for sharing their thoughts and for supporting decision making.  For others there may have to be adaptations and /or  specific teaching e.g. the vocabulary of the top scale.  We heard recently of a student in a specialist centre who couldn’t use Talking Mats.  However the staff would include him in groups where it was used and make sure he was around others doing Mats.  After a few years, he did learn the principles and go on to use it effectively.

We have gathered ideas and knowledge from practitioners working in the field of autism and included these on our web-site under Free Stuff on Communication Disability.  ASD guidelines  It’s important that these guidelines grow and adapt as we learn more about using TM with an even wider range of people.

We’ve arranged a twilight session here at Stirling on the 1st of February 2018  to bring together practitioners working in the field of autism to extend our knowledge and encourage a staged approach to effective use of Talking Mats.
We’re delighted that Ruth Chalmers, Principal Teacher for Autism Spectrum Info and Support Team (ASIST) in Fife will be joining us to talk about developing social communication skills using Talking Mats. There will be time for small group chat so bring along a case you want to discuss.
Please share the attached flier 201802 AsD seminar with your network and we hope you can join us

Please come along and   If you are interested in attending this twilight session 4.00pm to 6.00 pm (cost £20.00),  please notify us at info@talkingmats.com