1 Summary of collaborator characteristics for TAG Collaborator Age Sex Factors Communication (rating: 0-6) Literacy C1 Early 60’s F Generally clear speech. Some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression and facility of comprehension. (5) Reads text in books & newspapers; writes letters & e-mails. C2 F Uses a wheelchair & a walking frame Fragmentary expression; great need for inference, questioning and guessing by listener. Limited exchange of information. (2) No known or observed ability to read or write C3 Early 40’s F Fragmentary expression; great need for inference, questioning and guessing by listener. Limited exchange of information. (2) No known or observed ability to read or write C4 Late 30’s M Uses an electric wheelchair Unclear speech. Some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression and facility of comprehension. (5) Not known C5 Late 50’s M Generally clear speech. Some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression and facility of comprehension. (5) Not known C6 Mid 30’s F Uses hearing aids Fragmentary expression; great need for inference, questioning and guessing by listener. Limited exchange of information. (2) No or observed ability to read or write C7 Mid 30’s F Uses hearing aids. Clear speech. Minimal discernable communication difficulties. (6) Reads text in books & newspapers; writes letters & e-mails.
C8 Mid 30’s F Clear speech. Minimal discernable communication difficulties. (6) Reads text in books & newspapers; writes letters & e-mails. C9 Mid 30’s M Attention problems; epilepsy. Unclear speech. Some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression and facility of comprehension. (5) Some social sight reading with pictorial support; copy writes simple words. C10 Mid 30’s M Thyroid condition – tires easily Mainly speech with some sound errors. Minimal discernable communication difficulties. (6) Some social sight reading with pictorial support; copy writes simple words. Co-production of Talking Mats® interview The aims of the TAG were to: establish an appropriate vocabulary for talking about the topic of ‘television watching’; select the most meaningful and relevant graphic representations for vocabulary items; determine core topics that were relevant to television-viewing habits and preferences; and categorise television programmes in an accessible way. The TAG core membership attended the same day service. They met six times during an eight-week period – each meeting lasting about 90 minutes. Collaborator attendance of the core TAG meetings varied between 2-6 people. One collaborator declined to continue her attendance after week 1 due to tensions with another member. The meetings were held in a separated area of the day centre with refreshments served at the midway point. All the meetings followed a similar format with the principal investigator leading and three student researchers providing support for individual members. The first part focused on generating vocabulary items for the topic of television-watching. The second part addressed the selection of
Animals and Countryside Countryfile; River Monsters Singing and Dancing X Factor; The Voice Sports Match of the Day; Snooker Comedy Harry Hill; Mrs Brown’s Boys Chat Shows Graham Norton; The One Show Children’s TV In the Night Garden; Dennis and Gnasher Shows Pointless; The Chase and Politics News; Weather; Panorama Life Big Brother; Traffic Cops Ago Antiques Road Show; Who do you think you are Come Dine with Me; Great British Bake-off Each category was tested out by the collaborators in a series of card sorting exercises, such as: the person was given a category-topic card and had to claim appropriate individual items presented by the researcher; the person had to sort items into one of two topics displayed in the right and left hand corners of the mat; individuals were asked what programmes they could think of under each presented. The collaborators were able to use the categories effectively, although a few items were associated with more than one category. For example ‘Newsround’ featured in ‘Children’s TV’ as well as ‘News and Politics’. Such cases were noted and the identified symbols were included in all relevant categories. Script
communication difficulties. (6) writes letters & e-mails. P3 36.10 M Attention problems; epilepsy. Unclear speech to the unfamiliar listener due to phonological disorder. Some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression & facility of comprehension. (5) Some social reading with pictorial support; copy writes simple words. P4 37;06 M Thyroid condition – easily Partially clear speech – contains some phonological errors. Minimal discernable communication difficulties (6) Some social sight reading with pictorial support; copy writes simple words. P5 48;06 F Arthritis affecting walking & general mobility. Clear speech but with dysfluency characterised by blocking and initial syllable repetition. Minimal discernable communication difficulties (6) Reads text in books & newspapers; writes letters & e-mails. The participants all lived at home with one or two parents and had been coming to the respite facility regularly for around 6 years. Four of the participants had Down syndrome. The aetiology of P3 was unknown. Their communication skills ranged from some obvious difficulties with fluency of expression or facility of comprehension (n=3) to minimal discernible difficulties (n=2). Procedure The TeLeTiMe kit was administered in a quiet setting with minimal distractions. The Interviewer and the participant sat at right angles to one another at a table. The mat