In 1989 the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Research Unit was established at the University of Stirling. It is an inter-disciplinary team involving speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, psychologists, sociologists and linguists. Talking Mats was originally developed by Joan in a research project 1998. The use of Talking mats spans the globe from countries as diverse as India, USA, Australia, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, Sweden, Brazil, South Africa, Canada and Spain.
Since its first conception, research involving Talking Mats has now extended into work with young offenders, children with social and emotional difficulties, people considering alternative ways of eating and drinking, vulnerable children and adults, and most recently, dementia.
We place a great deal of emphasis on producing practical outcomes from our research projects.

In November 2009 the Talking Mats team expanded and moved to new premises at the Innovation Park, University of Stirling where we are looking forward to pursuing new research, new business opportunities, and accommodating the increase in demand for our products and training.

Click here to go to the AAC website

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