Talking Mats

Also called Talking Mat, Digital Talking Mats

A mat, a topic, a set of picture cards and a scale from happy to unhappy. A way for anyone to give their view on anything, and have it recorded.

What it is

Talking Mats is a structured way of finding out what a person thinks about something. A mat goes on the table. Along the top, a scale, usually three symbols: like, not sure, don't like. A topic is chosen, say, "things at home". Then, one at a time, picture cards for the parts of that topic are handed over: my bedroom, the food, the noise, the garden, my carer. The person places each card under the point on the scale that matches how they feel about it. At the end, the mat is a photograph of their view.

It was developed at the University of Stirling in the 1990s by Joan Murphy and is now run by a social enterprise, Talking Mats, which trains practitioners and publishes the symbol sets.

Who it can help

People who find open questions hard and who would otherwise be spoken for: people with a learning disability, people with dementia, people with aphasia after a stroke, autistic people, children in care, people with a brain injury. It's used in social work reviews, care planning, health appointments, capacity assessments and school reviews.

It needs a person who can understand a picture and make a choice about where to put it, and a partner who's willing to accept the answer. It's a tool for views, not for needs in the moment: nobody asks for a drink with a Talking Mat.

How it works

The three elements are the topic, the options and the scale. The topic sets the frame ("my day", "my health", "moving house"). The options are the parts of it, one card each, and there are usually eight to fifteen. The scale is what the person sorts them against, and it can be about feelings, or how easy something is, or how much they want it.

The partner hands over one card, names it, and asks the person to put it where it belongs. They don't argue with the placement. They can ask more: "Tell me about that one." Once the mat's complete, they read it back, and the person can move anything. Then it's photographed, and the photograph goes in the file, so the person's view is what's recorded, rather than a professional's summary of it.

Its strength is that it removes the pressure of a face-to-face question and replaces it with a task the person controls. Many people who say "fine" to everything sort the cards very differently.

Getting started

You can try the idea with a tea towel, three feelings symbols and cards you make about one topic, but if you're going to use the results in a review, ask for a trained practitioner: the method has rules and they matter.

Before a care review, ask whether a Talking Mat can be done and its photograph attached to the notes.

Let the person keep a copy. It's their view, and it's the first time some people have seen it written down.

Where to get help

Talking Mats trains practitioners, sells the sets and has a digital version. Speech and language therapists in learning disability, stroke and dementia teams are often trained and can run one for a specific decision. Mencap and Alzheimer's Society can advise on getting a person's views heard in reviews more generally.