Gary Seath 2 months ago
We will work with specialist social enterprise, Talking Mats Ltd, together with children from armed forces communities, to co-produce a Talking Mat Visual Communication Tool and roll out this approach across our services in Scotland.
A child using the Talking Mats communication tool on a tablet with an adult overseeing the process.
A Talking Mat is a visual communication framework which supports people with communication difficulties to express their feelings and views.
This tool, designed by and for young people from forces families, will be the first of its kind, and available in digital and physical formats, in partnership with Talking Mats Ltd.
Emerging research indicates significant numbers of children from armed forces communities receive little or no specialist support to overcome ASN challenges.
Many of these children find adapting to change and communicating about this extremely challenging.
Having a parent in the military often means moving frequently and having to settle into a new home, school and community, while dealing with separation and disrupted routines.
Funding will enable children with ASN across Scotland to access this tool to express their feelings and views about their experiences which are difficult to verbalise.
As a children’s rights-based charity, it will help enhance our evidence base and improve understanding and consideration of their needs to shape the services which these young people receive in order to fully realise their potential and thrive.
Brigadier (Retired) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund said:
“The Army Benevolent Fund is delighted to fund Forces Children Scotland to develop this innovative approach to communication with young people from military families who have additional support needs.
Giving young people from military families a greater voice in the services they receive is vital for their wellbeing – and we are proud to support Forces Children Scotland in their ground-breaking project with children experiencing communication difficulties.”
Forces Children Scotland Deputy CEO and Policy Lead, Meg Thomas, said:
“We offer our sincere gratitude to the Army Benevolent Fund for their generous funding to co-develop our Talking Mats Communication Tool.
As a children’s rights and strengths-based charity, this funding will enable Forces Children Scotland to work directly with children from armed forces families with additional support needs to ensure they have appropriate means to communicate their lived experience and realise their potential and thrive.
Rolling out our forces-specific Talking Mat will enable our team to ensure these children have a voice. Organisations and agencies will also have the opportunity to use this tool. This will ensure effective communication is accessible to everyone coming into contact with forces children who have communication needs.”
Please get in touch and a member of the team will respond as soon as possible.
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