Talking Mats® helps people with dementia to communicate more effectively with family carers

The report - Talking Mats® and involvement in decision making for people with dementia and family carers - looks at how the low-tech communication tool, Talking Mats, can help people with dementia and their family carer (e.g. spouse, son, daughter) be more involved with decision-making about managing daily life.

Talking Mats, developed by Joan Murphy at the University of Stirling, uses a simple system of picture symbols on a textured mat. This allows people to express their views about various topics more easily, identify their strengths and abilities more clearly, and reduce anxiety of both the person with dementia and their family carer.

Joan Murphy, co-author of the report, said:

It is generally acknowledged that people with dementia may have difficulty admitting they are having problems due to memory loss and communication difficulties. Many also cannot manage day-to-day activities without some support from others.

The research showed that people with dementia felt Talking Mats clarified their thoughts and enabled them to express their views. The framework allowed them to convey their thoughts to their family carers, and helped them to reach a decision about how they were managing different aspects of their lives.”

The researchers reported a number of key outcomes:

• Talking Mats helped improve communication between people with dementia and their family carers, which could lead to improved relationships.
• People with dementia reported that Talking Mats helped them to clarify their thoughts, express them to their family carers, and reach a decision in these discussions. One person said: "It is so difficult to tell [my wife] what I think when I can’t remember the words, the pictures could help me a lot."
• Although people with dementia and their family carers both felt more involved in discussions when using Talking Mats, the increased feeling of involvement was significantly higher for the family carers, who repeatedly reported feeling 'listened to' by the person with dementia and felt that their loved one could actually 'see' their point of view. One carer said: "It never seems like he is listening to me. With this I can make him sit down and look at symbols and get him to understand what I am trying to say."

Recent guidance from the Department of Health recommends that people with dementia should have more involvement in decisions about their care options. Government policy also states that people with dementia and their carers should influence how government strategies and targets are implemented. This latest research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has implications for the improvement and delivery of services and could also be a significant help in changing policy.

Philippa Hare, JRF Programme Manager, said: "If, as policy-makers suggest, the aim is now to truly engage people with dementia and their families in decisions about their care, then Talking Mats offer an innovative means of allowing the views of people with dementia and their family carers to be heard."

The research involved 18 couples (person with dementia and their family carer) who were asked to use their usual verbal communication methods, and then Talking Mats, to discuss four aspects of daily living: personal care (e.g. washing, dressing); getting around (e.g. walking, using the stairs); housework (e.g. cooking, making the bed); and activities (e.g. watching TV, listening to music). For more information on Talking Mats see www.talkingmats.com.