Talking Mats: the effectiveness of a low technology communication framework to help people with dementia express their views

Abstract

The aims of this project were to establish whether Talking Mats, a low tech communication framework, helps people with dementia to communicate and to examine how effective the Talking Mats framework is for people at different stages of dementia. Thirty‐one people at three stages of dementia were interviewed about their well‐being under three interview conditions ‐ an unstructured (ordinary) conversation, a structured conversation and using the Talking Mats framework.The results indicated that conversations using the Talking Mats framework improved communication for people at all stages of dementia but that not all people at late‐stage dementia could use the Talking Mats framework effectively.The researchers concluded that the Talking Mats framework may therefore play an important role in improving quality of care by providing a simple, low‐cost tool that family and staff can use to engage with people with dementia and help them express their views about a range of topics.