Talking Mats Self- Management Project

Nicki Ewing

Talking Mats 2019

What is Talking Mats?

• Symbol based communication tool

• Card and Digital App

• Designed by speech and language therapists

• Widely used across Health, Social Care and Children and Young peoples services

We are a Social Enterprise

Talking Mats 2019

The Self Management Project

• Health and Social Care Alliance funding

• Empower people with a range of long term conditions with and without communication difficulties, to manage their own health and well-being

• Does the DTM support self management?

• 30 participants

10 people with stroke

10 people with learning disabilities

10 people with dementia

Talking Mats 2019

What we hoped

Talking Mats 2019

What did we do?

• Initial visit to demonstrate the App

• Information about Topic choices

• Each person completes six mats and emails to TM

• Follow up visits

• Evaluated the data

• Participants living with dementia completed 97 mats

Talking Mats 2019

TOPICS

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Top Three Topics

• Health

• Communication

• Leisure

Talking Mats 2019

Health‘Things are not so bad’

Talking Mats 2019

‘It’s too loud in the café’

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‘I want to join a choir’

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I want to go back to the Buddhist Centre

Talking Mats 2019

Dementia Mats

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Sharing information via the DTM

Information stored on the tablet

Email function

– Photo

– Additional information

Information can then be stored on

other systems

Talking Mats 2019

Sharing mats with others

• Mats were shared mainly with family and support staff

• It would be great to do a Talking Mat on the iPad before

you go to see the doctor as it would help you to think

about what you want to say’

• ‘I would like to take it to hospital appointments’

Talking Mats 2019

How has the DTM helped?

• Addressed communication difficulties

• Improved understanding and reflection on health

and care needs

• Generated solution focused actions e.g. getting

a handrail for the stair

• Improved interactions with family members and

carers

• Increased self-motivation by helping participants to take more control

Talking Mats 2019

Self Reflection• It made me think of things I would like to do

• Looking at the mats made me realise things – I didn’t know. I didn’t know I felt like that

• The mats gave me the opportunity to say more and gave me room for clarification

• ‘I wouldn’t have bothered to have such deep thoughts if it hadn’t been for Talking Mats

• It made me think not just about dire thoughts – it prompted me to think about the good things

• I can now talk to (my wife) in a way I couldn’t before

Talking Mats 2019