Our final resource in our January Sale, the Social Care Resource, in its original form was one of our first.  It will be reduced by 30% for the whole of January 2025!

“ it’s an amazing thing; that something so simple could be so useful to people”

James, Talking Mats user

This resource can help build an understanding of who someone is and what is important to them.

It has 3 topics:

You – how is your general health, emotional well being, appetite going at the moment?                        

Activities – what interests do you have?

Where you live – what works well in your home / where you live and what doesn’t?

Margo MacKay, now our Managing Director, tells a story of her early days using the Social Care Resource in a care home for people with dementia:

When I went back to the Care Home where I was piloting our new Social Care symbols the staff told me this story about  Ann.  Apparently she usually is very quiet and never joins in with activities or with other residents. However when we used Talking Mats with the Activities symbols, she told me that she really likes singing and had started singing to me. Later that day, one of the care staff had suggested that she sing again and Ann started a song with him. Gradually other residents joined in and they had a lovely sing-song with Ann leading it!

Joan Murphy, Founder of Talking Mats, recently published a report; Reducing the Burden of Dementia by Using the Talking Mats Framework to Help People with Dementia and their Carers Communicate More Effectively. ¹   One study described in the report looked at the use of Talking Mats to support people with dementia and their carers to make decisions together.  Here are some quotes from people with dementia in the study:

I found it (Talking Mats) a big help, sometimes I get the words muddled and can’t get out what I am trying to say.

The mat shows that I am able to do much more than I thought.  I didn’t realise how much she is doing in the house.

Read the full report here.

The Social Care resource is available to anyone already trained in Talking Mats and between the 1st and 31st of January it will be reduced by 30%.

If becoming trained in Talking Mats is something you’d like to achieve in 2025 find out more here.

References

1. Reducing the Burden of Dementia by Using the Talking Mats Framework to Help People with Dementia and their Carers Communicate More Effectively.European Society of Medicine Medical Research Archives, [S.l.]. Vol 12 No 9.

Available at: https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5716

Talking Mats don’t do Pink Friday, Black Friday or Cyber Monday but we can tell you about our January Sale.

Starting on the 1^st of January 2025 and running until the 31^st of January 2025 we are offering; 

• 30% discount on our Health and Well Being Bundle 

• 30% discount on our Social Care Resource * 

• 50% discount on our Eating and Drinking Resource * 

*available if Foundation Trained 

These are popular resources and over the next couple of weeks I will signpost you to some of our top blogs that showcase how they can be used.  

This week:  

Health and Well Being Resource Bundle  

This comprehensive resource can support conversations around general health, a person’s environment, ability to look after themselves and their communication across different areas. Find out more about it’s development and use. 

• What’s in the Health and Well Being Resource? 

Read about the development and background to the resource and its use with Duncan who had had a stroke. 

• How can you help someone express how they feel about their communication using the Health and Well Being resource?  

Kate was a woman with severe communication difficulties following a stroke.  This blog describes how using the 4 communication topics Kate and her therapist were able to identify specific challenges that could be worked on to help her overcome her difficulties. 

The Health and Well Being Resource complete with bag and mat will be reduced by 30% from the 1^st of January and will be available to buy in the website shop from that date. 

‘Communication requires more than just an exchange of words. When done correctly, it builds bonds and improves trust. The training has allowed me to not make assumptions about what somebody is thinking. I feel I am now more able to listen to what someone is telling me and summarise and feedback this information accurately.’ 

(Particpant Manchester training) 

‘I was a very skeptical convert to Talking Mats now Talking Mats is our team’s second language’ 

(Team leader Perth and Kinross Council) 

These are just 2 quotes from participants who have completed our Foundation Training, but the page could have been filled with testimonials. We get such enthusiastic feedback that it would be wrong not to share it!  We are very pleased to confirm that 

• we have 2 new venues for our Face to Face Foundation Training for 2025,  

• and we have increased the number of delegates we can support on our Online Foundation Training,  

This will allow us to welcome more participants into the Talking Mats community.

Foundation Training 

Face to Face: 

We have 2 new venues for our ever-popular face to face training; 

Glasgow – Robertson House, Bath Street.  February 25^th  

London – Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy Headquarters, April 8^th  

This is in addition to our course in Manchester at the St Thomas Centre, February 6^th. 

Courses run from 9.30am to 4.30pm and with lunch and refreshments provided.

Jess Lane will deliver the training in Glasgow and London. 

Laura Holmes will deliver the training in Manchester.

To find out more about what is involved in the one day course and the venues . 

Online: 

We have increased the number of participants able to take part in our online Foundation Training and as always support is provided by a Talking Mats Tutor to guide you through the modules to gain your certificate.  These courses have a start date every month: 

• January 6^th 

• February 4^th 

• March 4^th  

• April 1^st  

There are various options to choose from when booking training, from training only to training with resource pack.  Our website shop shows all the options in one place.   

Finally, let’s have one more quote about the impact of Talking Mats from a young person who worked with his clinician to help him in school; 

“when I see my mat I understand myself more” 

In 2024 our Licenced Trainers delivered Foundation Training to 935 practitioners world wide. This week 9 new Talking Mats practitioners are studying to become Licenced, allowing them to be part of our amazing community of Trainers enabling them to run Foundation Training within their Organisations and Partnerships.  New trainers most frequently ask 2 questions as they come to the end of this course;

1.       How can they provide ongoing support to the people they train?

2.       How can information and ideas about Talking Mats be shared between teams that use the tool?

This 2 part blog post discusses different approaches to these issues.

Firstly, Brid Corrigan, Principal Speech and Language Therapist with CAMHS, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS, writes about the Virtual Community of Practice set up to support practitioners who have completed Talking Mats Foundation Training.

Talking Mats Virtual Community of Practice- CAMHS

Our Talking Mats TM Virtual Community of Practice is a Microsoft Teams channel where GG&C CAMHS clinicians who are trained to use Talking Mats can share information, collaborate, ask questions and stay up to date with relevant news, information and share resources. The virtual community was launched late last year, following our Talking Mats training initiative.  There are 48 clinicians trained in Talking Mats. 

It is an open channel for clinicians to come together and learn from each other about how best to use Talking Mats to support children and young people in a CAMHS setting. All Talking Mats trained clinicians are welcome, from those who have recently completed their foundation training to the very experienced. 

Our meetings are focused on a particular topic.  We recently spoke about using Talking Mats to explore a young person’s capacity to consent with a case example presented. Clinicians reflected on how Talking Mats made an abstract concept tangible and accessible so it was evident that the young person was making a meaningful decision.  There was also a wide ranging discussion about how we might use Talking Mats to ensure that the young person understood fully the implications of their decision making.

Our second Talking Mats Virtual Community of Practice event took place at the end of May and was well attended. Libby Mills, Specialist SLT, presented an absorbing case study exploring how Talking Mats supported a young person’s care journey. This was followed by a thought-provoking discussion where clinicians reflected on how the approach supported the young person to share their views and opinions about treatment, identify care goals in a collaborative way and review progress.

We are delighted how quickly our community of learners has grown and are very excited about our shared learning journey.     

If you are trained in Talking Mats and would like to find out more about becoming a Licenced trainer please contact licenced@talkingmats.com

We are excited by the growing use and impact of Talking Mats in CAMHS. With this in mind, we have updated our compilation of mental health blogs, and are pleased to share a new compilation with you. If you have used Talking Mats in a mental health setting and would like to share your experiences with us, please do get in touch at info@talkingmats.com – we would love to hear from you! 

You can also access the blogs listed above by clicking the following links:

We are delighted to share a poster from Licenced Trainers Brid Corrigan and Libby Mills of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and Student Speech and Language Therapist Heather Pollock, developed as part of an Impact Project with the University of Strathclyde.

The poster reports on an evaluation of the impact of Talking Mats training on clinical practice across several Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in and around Glasgow. We were thrilled to hear the poster had been accepted at the Solving the Mental Health Crisis: Global Solutions Across the Lifespan Conference, held on Friday 21st June.

The project demonstrates how Talking Mats can be used by several members of the multidisciplinary team to build rapport and set goals with young people in both the inpatient and community CAMHS setting. A huge well done to everyone involved in the project for shining a light on how Talking Mats can help to hear the young person’s voice as part of their CAMHS journey.

Talking mats are delighted to announce the new Talking Mats ’ Sexual health and relationships’ advanced seminar and resource which is now available to book.

Resource background and development

This resource has been developed in partnership with the REACH team in Perth and Kinross council. In her blog Let’s talk about sex: part one Julia Pollock, a speech and language therapist with this multidisciplinary team describes why this resource is much needed and how it has helped open up discussions on a subject that otherwise might be more challenging. Her second blog Let’s talk about sex: part two describes the impact that this talking mats resource has had on one young person as they navigate their way through  the criminal justice system and their sexual development from childhood to adult hood’

What is in the Talking Mats Sexual health and relationships resource ?

The resource has three topics:

1. Sexual knowledge. This topic allows practitioners to explore what young people know. It also includes a sub mat of body parts to be used if more concrete options are required
2. Being close. This topic explores the young person’s view of intimacy. It can be used to explore what they have experienced in relationships and or what they want.
3. Sexual interests. This topic grew out of the Reach team’s focus on working with young people at risk of being involved in harmful sexual behaviour so it is to be used with care and is not appropriate for all thinkers. The options need to be personalised carefully.

Using this resource

From our piloting and testing phase this Talking Mats sexual health and relationship resource has been found to be very helpful for those working in this field but, it needs to be used with sensitivity and care. The options and images that we have developed are clear but are sometimes explicit. It is for this reason that this resource is not going to be available on our digital platform. It is important that practitioners using the resource are aware of the issues and think carefully about which topics and options are helpful for the young person they are working with before presenting them. Practitioners using this resource  need to work in a context that enables the young person to access any ongoing support for issues that may arise.

Accessing this resource

To access this resource, you need to:

1. Have completed the Talking Mats foundation course.
2. Be familiar with your organisation’s child protection and adult support and protection procedures
3. Be clear about why you are using this resource and for what purpose for example to explore sexual relationships in general or to open up discussions about harmful sexual behaviour. You need to be experienced enough to be able to adapt the resource for those different contexts.
4. Book onto our advanced seminar which we are hosting on the 5th of February 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM in conjunction with the REACH multidisciplinary team. This seminar allows for the context, challenges, risks and benefits of using the resource to be fully explained. This will include best practice examples and impact stories. It will give you the opportunity to explore the resource further and to ask any questions. The cost is £80 per participant and this covers the resource and the seminar.

Click here to book your place on this Advanced seminar. Places will be limited so make sure to book soon. Resources will be posted out the week before the seminar.

This week’s guest blog, the first of 2 from the authors (Lois Cameron, Nikky Steiner and Luccia Tullio), describes the development process of a set of symbols aimed at supporting practitioners to reflect on the role of identity within their practice. 

Every person has their own unique identity, just like they have their own unique fingerprint.

Identity is about how we see ourselves and how the world sees us.

Background

The Royal College of Speech and Language conference 2021 was titled ‘breaking barriers and building better.’  Professor Harsha Kathard from the University of Cape Town gave the keynote presentation and reflected on the key role understanding identity has in clinical practise, stating that ‘understanding identity is key to inclusion’.  Secondly, she stressed that if we want to develop  better services  and support then ‘Turning the gaze to reflect on our positionality is central to change’ .Ash R et al (2023) in their editorial for the British Medical Journal  highlight how interventions normally focus on single categories of social identity and ‘fail to account for the combinations of, or intersections between, the multiple social characteristic that define an individual’s place in society.’ They argue that ‘systems of care may consequently overlook overlapping systems of discrimination and disadvantage and exacerbate and conceal health inequities.’

The Development group

Following feedback from clinicians and people who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) a working group was formed in March 2021 to explore the role of identity, diversity, equality and inclusion with in AAC practice. 

Communication Matters and AAC networks within the UK advertised the group and 12 people responded.  These people came from a range of organisations and had a range of lived experiences of diversity including people who use a communication aid to help them communicate. The work was funded by the Central London Community Health Trust and Talking Mats Ltd facilitated the meetings and the work

The group worked shaped the resource by reaching a consensus about the components of life that contributed to identity. In the end the group agreed on gender, sexuality, disability, race, neurodiversity, culture, family structure, voice, bilingualism, religion, mental health, personality, politics, intimacy, connecting with others and occupation. The process of developing the symbols was hugely helpful in unpicking what was actually meant by the various aspects e.g. voice. The original image for voice represented accents but the group discussion shaped the image to represent much more so the final image included a rainbow flag, a more general sound wave to represent tone, a Spanish word and an image to represent disability. As one group member said ‘my cerebral palsy is part of my identity. If I am having a voice I want to reflect that identity – I want a cerebral palsy voice’. Identity and the issues surrounding it can be emotive but the focus on the symbols helped contain the emotion and supported group members to listen to the perspective of others.

The whole iterative process of developing the resource and clarifying what the symbols should look like allowed the group to be clear about the individual meanings of abstract topics. This wider understanding was captured in a glossary to go alongside the symbols. For example, Identity has the following definition: Every person has their own unique identity, just like they have their own unique fingerprint. Lots of different characteristics make up our identity. This is what makes us different from other people. Sometimes we may share some of these characteristics with other groups of people, which can also be part of our identity.  Identity is about how we see ourselves and how the world sees us.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: a visual framework to support the exploration of Identity within practice.

The resource is seen as a support for constructive reflection by practitioners on identity and allows them to consider the different aspects of their patients’ lives that may impact on their interventions. The final Talking Mats symbols have the suggested top scale of ‘I considered a lot’, ‘I considered a bit’, ‘I have not considered yet ‘. It could be used individually or by a team as a group discussion tool. 

The glossary is included to allow practitioners to reflect on the wider meaning of the symbols and what the options capture.

As the resource uses the Talking Mats framework, it is recommended that practitioners have completed their Talking Mats foundation level training

If you are interested in completing Talking Mats Foundation Training, you can see the training options in our shop here.

References

Kashard H 2021 Keynote breaking barriers and building better The Royal College of Speech and Language conference.

Ash Routen, 1 Helen-Maria Lekas, 2 Julian Harrison, 3 Kamlesh Khunti1,2023 Interesectionality in health equity research BMJ 2003 https://www.bmj.com/content/383/bmj.p2953

Our thanks for this blog go to Olivia Ince, Talking Mats Licenced Trainer and Speech & Language Therapist. This blog post reflects on the use of a Talking Mat with a Thinker called M who speaks English as an additional language. The Listener in this Talking Mat is Jono Thorne who is a colleague of Olivia. Jono did this Talking Mat for his video as part of a Foundation Training course run by Olivia.

M is a young adult who came to the UK as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child. M is from a country in Central Africa and speaks a language which is not widely spoken outside of the region. Accessing interpreting and translation services in the UK for their native language is very difficult and M has therefore had difficulties learning English. This means the people around M often have difficulties finding out M’s views, which is why Jono thought a Talking Mat could be an invaluable communication tool for M.

M already uses some visual support, for example hand gestures and using objects such as food items when having a conversation in the kitchen. The people around M are unsure what M’s level of comprehension is in English and therefore they make adaptions such as simplifying their language. M’s expressive language in English is typically the use of one- or two-word utterances and yes/no responses. 

To see if M would be able to engage with the Talking Mat process, Jono chose a simple topic to start with and one which he knew would interest M: food. The Top Scale used was like/unsure/ don’t like. Jono noted that M quickly understood the concept of the Talking Mat and the visual element seemed to support M’s understanding. The Talking Mat process including the side-by-side listening also facilitated rapport building.

Jono noticed that M was decisive and seemed certain about their placement of the option cards. The Talking Mat helped M to share their views on a larger number of items than would likely have been possible via a verbal conversation. M also joined in with the recap of their Talking Mat as part of the review and reflect by reading out the Option cards with Jono, which meant M was even more involved with the process.

There were a couple of difficulties for M during the Talking Mat process: the blanks and the option to change where the Option cards were placed. Jono tried to explain these steps using simple language but M did not appear to understand these concepts due to their level of comprehension of English. As M had seemed sure of their initial placement of the Option cards and they joined in with the recap, Jono felt that the Talking Mat was an accurate reflection of M’s views that day. Continuing to model these steps to M will likely help them to develop their understanding of these parts of the Talking Mats process over time.

Jono reflected on how useful it was to now know which foods M likes and doesn’t like. He also reflected on the potential future use of Talking Mats with M on more complex topics and to facilitate participation in decision-making now that it’s clear M understands how a Talking Mat works.

If you are interested in completing Talking Mat Foundation Training, you can read more about it here.

We are pleased to share a new blog from Talking Mat Associate, Jess Lane, as part of a 2-part series on the use of Talking Mats within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

In Part 1, Jess described how Talking Mats can provide children with a safe space to explore topics that they might otherwise feel unable to communicate about, in a way that is highly supportive, sensitive and impactful. Check it out here:

In Part 2, Jess reflects on the use of Talking Mats by all members of the multidisciplinary team. We also hear from Nikki Low, Specialist Occupational Therapist, who reflects on her use of Talking Mats in the acute mental health setting.

Later in the blog, Jess explores how Talking Mats can be used as part of a post-diagnostic package of support for autistic children to support more focussed, strengths-based conversations, in line with the core principles of neurodiversity affirming practice.

A Multidisciplinary Approach

Welcome back to my 2-part series on the use of Talking Mats within CAMHS. In Part 1, I described how the implementation of Talking Mats by all members of the multidisciplinary team has transformed the way children are supported in the acute mental health setting. I have since reflected with clinicians from across Speech and Language Therapy, Nursing, Psychiatry, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Psychology on how Talking Mats continue to be used on CIPU to facilitate the direct and meaningful involvement of children in care planning, and to facilitate equity of access to therapeutic intervention.

Nikki Low reflects on using Talking Mats in her role as a Specialist Occupational Therapist:

“I am a Specialist Occupational Therapist working in a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit with children under 12, many of whom, in addition to their mental illness, have an intellectual disability, are neurodivergent and/or have experienced complex trauma. This can make meaningful interactions about thoughts and feelings challenging or even impossible, particularly when discussing sensitive topics.

We strive to provide a client centred approach to care and treatment for our young patients but this can be difficult when they are unable to express themselves. Talking Mats has revolutionised our approach with these children. It has proven to be a powerful tool, transforming communication experiences for individuals of all abilities. I have used Talking Mats to engage patients in assessments and to formulate their treatment goals. Its user-friendly design, customisable features and positive impact make it an invaluable resource in the care and treatment of our vulnerable young patients.

As a unit, we have rolled out training to all core staff in order that we can incorporate Talking Mats into our practice. By doing this, we have been able to facilitate more inclusive and person-centred interactions, ultimately fostering a more supportive and empowering environment for all involved.”

Implementing Talking Mats across a whole staff team has increased the capacity and capability of clinicians to routinely involve children in decisions pertaining to their care. It has also contributed to a culture whereby Talking Mats are considered at each stage of a child’s admission, to support assessments of capacity and mental state, medication reviews, engagement with advocacy services and participation in all multidisciplinary team meetings and case conferences.

Post-Diagnostic Support

Most recently, I have used Talking Mats as part of a post-diagnostic package of support for autistic children, to support more focussed, strengths-based conversations around what it means to be autistic. This has involved developing a symbol set based on SIGN guidelines and associated resources, to support children who have recently been diagnosed as autistic, to engage in a conversation about what would be helpful for them to know.

When presented with a Top Scale of Helpful, Not Sure, Not Helpful, children were able to share their opinion on a range of options, including (but not limited to): facts and figures, autistic famous people, links to other work, skills, strategies and resources. An example is provided below. From this, I was able to create a personalised information pack for each child, based on what they would (and would not) find helpful to know about autism.

Most children shared that it would be helpful to find out about autistic famous people. This provided the foundation for a follow-up conversation about identity. Some children shared that they would find it helpful to find out about incidence and prevalence figures. Others did not. This was reflected in their information packs. For children who shared that they would like to understand how being autistic might impact, or otherwise feed into, therapeutic work for anxiety, I worked with colleagues from across Psychology and Nursing to ensure this was accurately reflected in their information packs.

Using a Talking Mat to scaffold conversations about what it means to be autistic has been well received by other clinicians involved in providing post-diagnostic support. By providing children with an opportunity to identify exactly what they would like to know about autism, clinicians have been able prioritise areas of support and signpost to the most relevant resources. This speaks to legislation that calls for the greater involvement of patients in decision making, in line with the mantra: no decision about me, without me.

Anecdotally, I have found that using Talking Mats as part of a post-diagnostic package of support has made a significant contribution to the development of a more streamlined, relevant and person-centred approach to sharing information. Using Talking Mats in this way has provided children with a dedicated space to voice their opinion on a topic that they might not have previously inputted into, that has been actively listened to and directly acted upon.

It is hoped that in sharing how Talking Mats can be used as part of a post-diagnostic package of support, this blog might encourage others to consider how they might achieve similarly positive outcomes for children with other diagnoses.  If you have used Talking Mats as part of a post-diagnostic package of support for children or adults, I would love to hear from you! Please do get in touch at info@talkingmats.com.