Improving communication, improving lives
Search Talking Mats
Get your top scales right

Get your top scales right

Download and print top scales.

For users of Talking Mats getting your top scales right is a key part of the process.  The sight of Matty with thumbs up / thumbs down / shrugging is a familiar one.  It is our ‘go to’ top scale image, attached to our symbols in every resource you order.  However, since the launch of our new digital resource where there is a choice of 16 top scales our TM community has been asking for the equivalent in card format. 

 So here it is:

If you are trained and have an account on the website you can download and print 16 different top scales to suit the conversations you are having and the thinkers you are having them with.

Before you all rush off to print, laminate and chop it is probably worth pausing to think about the top scale and how important it is in the Talking Mats framework.  Making sure the top scale matches the question is vital to the conversation; for example if your topic is Self Care and the purpose is to find out if anything is causing a problem it is more appropriate to ask if someone is ‘managing / not managing’ rather than whether the task is ‘very important / not important’.  The focus of the conversation becomes whether or not the Thinker can carry out the activity allowing for practical steps to be put in place to support them. 

The midpoint of all top scales is included as we find it allows for indecision, an everyday part of the process of making decisions and forming opinions.  Some people do struggle with too much choice however, and the top scale can be presented with just the 2 opposing points on the scale. 

The printout includes top scales for our Advanced sets; ‘This is Me / This is not Me’, (Keeping Safe), ‘Sorted / Not Sorted’ (Thinking Ahead), and ‘Safe / Not Safe’ for our new Youth Justice resource, as well as options without thumbs and one that uses stars instead of Matty.

We know this new print out will be very useful to many of you when you plan your Talking Mats sessions and if you have any other top scales that you think could be added please let us know!

The printable top scales document can be found in the Shop if you are Talking Mats trained and you log into your account on the website

www.talkingmats.com

Read more about Top Scales https://www.talkingmats.com/when-is-a-talking-mat-not-a-talking-mat/

You might also like to read

Awards
talking-mats-awards
talking-mats-awards2
talking-mats-awards3png