Dementia Support Line
Talking Mats
Talking Mats are a way to engage with people with communication or cognitive difficulties, including those who have dementia.
- 1-2-1 conversations and interviews
- Recruitment and ethical considerations for 1-2-1 interviews
- Face to face 1-2-1 conversation or interviews
- Telephone 121 conversations and interviews
- Photo elicitation interviews
- You are here: Talking Mats
- Emotional Touchpoints
- Tips for dementia-friendly 1-2-1 conversations and interviews
Pros and cons:
Useful for: people who benefit from a visual way of expressing themselves rather than speech or writing. This may enable a person to speak for themselves rather than through having a family member or proxy speaking for them. In this video Dr Joan Murphy explains benefits for people with dementia to express their views.
Time and costs: You might like to get trained in the use of Talking Mats. Find out more on their website https://www.talkingmats.com.
Preparation:
Consider carefully what you want to find out about and plan questions which will enable the particular person you are talking with to express themselves, taking account of their cognitive abilities.
How to use Talking Mats
In this video Dr Joan Murphy shows how Talking Mats can be used.
