A three year study completed in 2004 and funded by the Scottish Executive has identified the effectiveness and reliability of Talking Mats with people with intellectual disability. For people whose comprehension is at 3 and more key words in one sentence Talking Mats has proved to be an effective and reliable communication resource to help them express their views. The quality and quantity of information obtained is significantly greater than when using only their usual communication methods. For those people whose comprehension is at 1 key word, Talking Mats may not reflect their views reliably but it does improve their attention and interaction. For people whose comprehension is at 2 key words the findings are tentative and this group deserves further research. The study has identified additional factors which influence the quality of interaction such as distractions, physical and sensory abilities and iconicity of topics presented. We ask you to bear in mind that Talking Mats is not a solution to all communication difficulties.

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