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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Communication and dementia
— how 'Talking Mats' can help people with dementia to express themselves | | Author(s) | Joan Murphy, Cindy M Gray, Sylvia Cox |
| Corporate Author | University of Stirling; Joseph Rowntree Foundation - JRF |
| Publisher | Joseph Rowntree Foundation - JRF, York, 2007 |
| Pages | 88 pp |
| Source | Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Homestead, 40 Water End, York YO30 6WP. Findings and full report available as free downloads from http://www.jrf.org.uk |
| Keywords | Cognitive impairment ; Dementia ; Residents [care homes] ; Participation ; Research ; Quality of life ; Symbols ; Projects. |
| Annotation | The deterioration of communication between people with dementia and their carers is one of the most distressing aspects of the illness. This project aimed to establish whether Talking Mats (www.talkingmats.com), a low-tech communication framework, help people with dementia to communicate, and to examine how effective they are for people at different stages of dementia. The study involved 31 people who were each interviewed about their well-being using both Talking Mats - a system of simple picture symbols - and usual communication methods. The researchers compared the effectiveness of each method. They found that Talking Mats improved the ability of people at all stages of dementia to communicate, compared to usual communication methods; and that this tool also reduced repetitive behaviour and helped to keep participants engaged in conversation. The findings suggest that Talking Mats can play an important role in improving quality of care for people with dementia. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) supported this project based at the University of Stirling, guided by an Advisory Group. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-071105506 B |
| Classmark | E4: EA: KX: TMB: 3A: F:59: UH7: 3E |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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