At the end of a recent training session, we asked the trainees to tell us how they planned to use Talking Mats as part of their work. Their comments were as follows:

• This tool will be useful in helping some residents make decisions, informed choices and express their needs. It will take time for some residents to feel confident in using this tool.
• I’d like to use it with some residents to be able to adapt Talking Mats more to their understanding.
• I’d like to use this tool for resident’s reviews to find out what the residents likes/dislikes are.
• Talking Mats will be great for service evaluation.
• Talking Mats will be great for asking residents about things they want to do.
• Updating Care Plans regularly from outcomes of Talking Mats.
• It can be used to get to know people’s needs and wishes more.
• Share the findings with colleagues and joint services.
• Hopefully through its use I’ll learn to pass it onto others.
• A gardening set. Service evaluation and well-being assessing stress levels/anxiety/emotional state?
• I’d use it to promote choices of activities.
• Care Inspectorate forms. Finding out how people enjoy time at the service and how to improve on it.

Can you let us know how you use Talking Mats as part of your work?

We are very grateful to David Brennan, a Dementia Support Worker from Ayrshire for this powerful blog.

Over the years our service has supported many people with a diagnosis of Dementia, now and then we encounter individuals whose cognitive difficulties have greatly affected their ability to communicate. This can (in some cases) result in distress for the services user and their families, distress that could be reduced or even avoided if the individual had a way of being understood by those around them.
As a service we welcomed the opportunity to engage in the Talking Mats Training and as a Dementia Support Worker I was eager to have a tool that could help me overcome communication obstacles, having experienced situations where those I support become so frustrated because they desperately want to relay a piece of information, but simply cannot find the words to express themselves.
I saw talking Mats as a communication system for those who struggle with speech. However, after using the practice in a practical environment I realise that I have had underestimated its potential, for it has much wider applications in our role.
My first experience of using Talking Mats was when producing the video for the second training session. I enlisted the help of a gentleman from the neighbouring Day Care centre.
We had never met prior to the session. The Gentleman had no communication difficulties that I was aware of.
Using the Talking Mats acted as an instant ice breaker, giving two complete strangers a reason to sit down and interact together, quickly striking up a rapport. The Gentleman appeared at ease and was happy to talk in detail about the tiles for the chosen subject of ‘Leisure Activities’
The activity revealed more than expected though. Through the course of the conversation he voiced feelings on things he was perhaps not happy with. I discovered he was unhappy that he did not get out in the open air enough due to poor mobility and that he would have preferred to see musicians coming into his Day Care Centre. This was crucial feedback
It occurred that Talking Mats also had an effective use in the assessment and quality assurance process that exist within services, providing crucial feedback for continued person-centred planning.
Taking this on board I considered examples of service users within my current caseload where the activity could prove beneficial.
I have been working with one gentleman for many months. He could be described as a Man’s man, someone who often replies to attempts at conversation with short responses, even when speaking with his wife. He may struggle to remember the names of people and places but he typically has little other difficulty in communicating.
I attempted the same topic with this man. Much of the answers were as expected. He spoke about football and his favourite team, but the structure of the Talking Mats encouraged him to open up about some of the smaller details that until now he hadn’t felt the need to disclose.
In the most recent example I was asked to take part in a colleague’s Talking Mat video for her training. She is one of our newest members of staff and although we have already developed a good working relationship the activity allowed her more insight to the nature and history of her co-worker.
For my experience, as someone who can struggle with sensory stimulation, it allowed me to express some of my needs and obscure preferences (around the office and in general) in a safe environment where I felt able to communicate what would normally be very personal information. And to have someone listen and thoughtfully consider this was a rewarding experience too.
As a service, new to the Talking Mats system, we are just scratching the surface of how we can best implement this into our roles, but the possibilities are already multiplying at a rapid pace, almost as much as the benefits we are seeing.

David Brennan
Dementia Support Worker

This post is about the importance of the Talking Mats blog and how it can be used as a rich resource of information for anyone interested in communication. One of the first ‘tasks’ that I was asked to do after starting my new job at Talking Mats was to create and give a presentation to an international audience of trainees at our most recent course for Accredited Trainers. I had only been in post for 2 weeks and I was also a trainee on the course, so the pressure was on!

The main aims of the presentation was to promote the Talking Mats Blog as a source of rich information which is accessible to anyone, that Accredited Trainers can use it in their own training courses, and also to encourage Accredited Trainers to write their own blog posts to describe how they use Talking Mats in their working and personal lives.

I wanted to try and make the presentation look a bit more dynamic than the usual ‘death by PowerPoint’ that can sometimes occur after a whole day of looking at slides! I decided to use Prezi, “a cloud-based  presentation software and storytelling tool for presenting ideas on a virtual canvas”, as I’d had good feedback about it when I had used it in the past and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to roll it out again. You can see the completed presentation here.

When the day came to give the presentation, I wasn’t feeling on top form after having flu for a few days previously. Because of this my memories of it are rather hazy (which isn’t good for the purposes of writing a blog about the presentation!) but from what I’ve heard, apart from looking ill, I managed to get my points across without confusing (or frightening) the audience!

It was a fantastic opportunity to take part in the Accredited Training course and to hear the stories of all the trainees who are dedicated to using Talking Mats to improve the lives of the people they help on a daily basis.

I’ve also just found out that the team at Talking Mats have been blogging for 4 years, so get reading!

Many thanks to Sara Toyn, Head of Adult Speech and Language Therapy, who has given us her thoughts on an organisational Talking Mats training course recently held in Powys, Wales. Together with Katie Earing, Sara organised the training course which included participants from a variety of NHS backgrounds and who worked with a range of adults with communication difficulties.

‘I attended a Talking Mats training organised by our team and offered to trained and untrained members of staff working in hospital and community. As an SLT I found it good revision and review of my own practice and also helped refocus some of my ideas and approaches.

The evaluations from all participants were extremely positive. We were overcrammed into too small a room as is the case with many training rooms and usually this is the first comment made on feedback.  I think it is positive that no one mentioned this at all on the evaluations as everyone was very engrossed in the activities and videos.  I have had several individuals point out how much they learnt and they report an increase in confidence in communicating with clients.’

Here are some of the comments from course participants

• This has opened up a whole new world of communication. Thank you.
• Very worthwhile course, have learned a lot and will surely use the mats at work.
• Feel I could integrate this into everyday practice with stroke patients – goal setting, D/C planning etc.
• Good interactive session.
• Completely unique! Thank you.
• Thank you. Excellent training, very transferable skills and will benefit patients.
• Really good. Being specific in the topic and phrasing questions openly, not only using Talking Mats.
• Have a patient in mind for tomorrow morning.
• Thank you. Really useful WHO ICF framework and framework for thinking about people’s cognitive level.

For further information about the training we offer, please click here

As part of the Right to Speak initiative Talking Mats was funded to develop ‘Promoting Inclusion and Participation’: an online learning resource for staff working with children and young people who use Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC).  We have been delighted to work with NHS Education Scotland on developing this free resource and also have really enjoyed working in partnership with the learning and development consultancy: Forum Interactive.

The complexity of care for children and young people who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) is multifaceted. Ensuring that goals are centred on the young person and family’s needs is a constant challenge to practitioners. There are several resources that focus on developing the technical skills of developing AAC but there is a scarcity of resources that focus on the impact of AAC on the child’s day to day life.

Promoting Inclusion and Participation is based on an earlier project which determined the key indicators of a quality AAC service from the perspective of AAC users and their families.

Promoting Inclusion and Participation uses the following frameworks to help practitioners structure their decision making:

1. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – Children and Young People (ICF-CY)
2. Janice Light’s Communicative Competencies (2014)
3. GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child) wellbeing indicators

These are brought to life in a series of DVD vignettes which tell the stories from the perspective of the child, their families and schools. It poses the practitioners’ questions that allow them to reflect on the impact of AAC on the child’s day to day life. The resource is designed to be used for group discussion. The feedback from the expert practitioners that reviewed the material suggest that the DVD and resulting questions can enable AAC practitioners to have  a rich discussion about best practice and how to time educational and therapeutic input to achieve holistic outcomes.

This on-line resource will help practitioners:

1. Understand the role that collaboration and involvement play in delivering wellbeing outcomes for children who use AAC.
2. Apply a holistic approach and outcomes focused approach to assessment, implementation and review which places the child at the centre.
3. Recognise that as the child develops and changes, so the level of different team member’s involvement will ebb and flow.

Download the resource here. It takes a little time to download so be patient !

We would be delighted to receive feedback of how it is being used.

Ref

Light J , Mcnaughton D, Communicative Competence for Individuals who require Augmentative and Alternative Communication: A New Definition for a New Era of Communication? Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 2014; 30(1): 1–18

Getting feedback on AAC services  is particularly challenging because of the communication support needs of this group of people. It is therefore really important for AAC users to have the chance to say how they feel about the services they receive. Services need to make sure that this group of people have a voice and that there is a mechanism for their views to be taken into account in monitoring the quality of services and service planning.

NES has funded the opportunity for professionals to attend a seminar and go away with a resource to support them to get feedback from AAC users about their service.  The Talking Mats resource was trialled and developed with Forth Valley AAC partnership and is based on AAC quality indicators (NES 2013).

This opportunity is free of charge to people in AAC partnerships in Scotland. You will attend a half day specialist seminar and go away with a free resource to use in practice.

The resource will help people find out how AAC users feel about:

• People who work with them
• How AAC services are delivered

It provides a model of good practice which could be extended to evaluate other services.

4 dates and locations are available.

Edinburgh-           Tuesday 17th March  1.45 -4-.30pm

Dundee –           Wednesday 18th March  1.45 -4.30pm

Glasgow            Thursday 19th March – 1.45 -4.30pm

Inverness          Friday 20th March       1.45 -4.30 pm

If you are trained in Talking Mats and wish to take up this  great opportunity, please book your place as soon as possible.

sally@talkingmats.com    or rhona@talkingmats.com

Over the past  year we have been funded by the Scottish Government to develop a Talking Mat to enable adults  with Learning disabilities to raise issues of concern.  We have worked in close partnership with Survivor Scotland and Kingdom Abuse Survivors Project  .  Together we have developed and trialled a Talking Mat  . The final report for this project is here :Talking Mats and Survivor Scotland final Report

This year the Scottish Government recognised the value of using Talking Mats as a conversation framework to enable people with learning disability to reflect on their lives and express their views including raising  any areas of concern.  One of the key themes from the national Scottish strategy for people with learning difficulties ‘Keys to Life’ is to  keep people safe, but it was also recognised that the Talking Mat that had been designed could also help with other themes –

• Helping people with learning disabilities stay in control
• Shift the culture and ensure care is genuinely person centred
• Evidence that the views of people with learning disabilities have been taken into account
• Support people to cope with adversity and loss and enhance  resilience
• Address health inequalities and reduce early deaths

The Scottish Government has funded a 3 year project which we are calling Keeping Safe.

This project will

• Produce a new resource based on the feedback from earlier projects This has 3 topics of conversation . Firstly ,How people are feeling about their Health and well-being secondly, their relationships. For people who are able to think and express their views at a more abstract level  the resource has a third topic and gives them  space to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.

•  Train staff in the 14 health boards across Scotland to use Talking Mats and this resource specifically. This training will be provided jointly with KASP so staff can be supported to think through how they respond appropriately to any concerns that may arise
• Ensure that all health board areas have accredited trainers who will be able to lead ongoing training and sustain use of the resource

If you work with adults with learning disabilities in Scotland and would be like to be part of this exciting initiative please contact us at info@talkingmats.com.

Part 1 highlighted how Talking Mats training can help improve your competency when consulting children and young people. In this part,we are grateful to Anita Devi, Education Consultant for illustrating the key differences between Statements and EHC plans. The changes have been implemented to enable individuals and families be active agents in their own lives rather than passive recipients of services.

Using Talking Mats as a communication tool  enables practitioners to fulfil all stages of the assessment process and contributes to the development of the plan. The differences of the new system under the SEND reforms are illustrated in the table below (double click on the image to see it more clearly):

The local offer provides information on what services children, young people and their families can expect from a range of local agencies, including education, health and social care. Knowing what is out there gives  more choice to individuals and to families.

The Local Offer has two key purposes:

1. To provide clear, comprehensive, accessible and up-to-date information about the available provision and how to access it, and

2. To make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving disabled children and those with SEN and their parents, and service providers in its development and review.

For children and young people, who struggle with communication, this can be quite a challenge. What is required is a communication tool that makes the process real and meaningful. Talking Mats breaks down the dialogue into bite-size chunks and gives the child or young person the space and time to meaningfully express his/her preferences and opinions.

Earlier in the year, Anita Devi & I published an article on “Listening to the learner :seeking the views of children and young people with communication difficulties.” It highlights the importance of creating a listening culture within the learning environment and using all modes of communication available. If we take the time to do this, the child or young person’s perspective will be taken seriously and the unique circumstances of each individual kept central to the process.

Thanks to Anita Devi,Education Consultant, for her helpful contribution to this blog.

The implementation of the recent SEND reforms in England requires interdisciplinary teamwork. Integrated assessments will now be carried out in cooperation with the young person and the parents. Capturing the child’s own perspective and recording their views, interests and aspirations is now a statutory requirement. The principles of the SEND Code of Practice state that practitioners should encourage the child or young person, and the child’s parents to participate as fully as possible in the decisions affecting their lives and use a common language to shape educational and other outcomes.

Talking Mats has produced a practical and creative resource – “Consulting Children & Young People” that helps practitioners to ensure that they take account of the SEND Principles at all stages of the assessment process and development of the EHC Plan.

We recognised the need to develop a tool that would give a holistic picture of how a child or young person feels about their lives at home, at school and in their communities. Having a visual framework means that there’s more time for reflection. You can help young people to see their personal strengths and abilities and take time to consider what their problem areas are.  Talking Mats gives greater choice and control about what kind of intervention is required to support them.

Communication is a two way process and the role of the facilitator is crucial. Talking Mats provides training at the following levels:

• Awareness – an introduction to the Talking Mats framework and the development of the CCYP resource.
• Enhanced – a whole day training to equip practitioners to use Talking Mats
• Specialist – In depth training which allows the practitioner to train others in their organisation.

(as stipulated on page 58 of The 2014 SEND Code of Practice for England)

Why not sign up for one of our training courses and learn more about –

    Improving the quality of your engagement

    Creating a visual framework for consultation

    A child centred approach to joint decision making.

Read Part 2 of this blog next week.

My name is Karin Torgny, I’m from Sweden. My background is in journalism and culture studies. I used to work in “The Development Centre for Double Exposure” for many years, and our mission was to improve and spread knowledge about violence against women with disabilities. My special interest during these years was AAC. Today I work for Unicef and in different projects on human rights issues.

A year ago I did my accredited Talking Mats training in Stirling, Scotland. Since then I have given my first course in using Talking Mats when talking about abuse and harm. It was a great experience and an opportunity to work with an enthusiastic group of women who were open and willing to communicate using symbols. They are all in an organisation working with girls/women with intellectual disability exposed to violence and oppression in the name of honour.

I think Talking Mats is a good tool when approaching difficult subjects and I hope to run more courses like this in Sweden in the future. Lately I was interviewed on the Swedish Radio and talked about the use and possibilities with Talking Mats when someone is exposed to harm and abuse.

For those who know Swedish (!), here is a link to that program, http://t.sr.se/1mxZv9W

I am also curious if someone else is doing something similar. If so I would be interested to know more. Send an e-mail to: karin.torgny@gmail.com

Have a look at how Talking Mats has been used in Scotland to support people with a learning disability to disclose issues of concern: Survivor Scotland