Abstract:

Introduction:
We present the research-action project IIWAC (Innovative Interactions Weaving by Artistic Creation) in which artists worked with dependent elderly people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, residing in a specialized service of the hospital.
The artists animated workshops based on the musical and sound play, the pictorial creation and the dance, with the integration of connected objects dedicated to the sonification of the gestures. We have developed two functional prototypes linking gesture and music, using a connected watch and a ring.

Description of the technical device:
The connected objects are worn by the resident or by the artist. The parameters of the wrist movements for the watch or the finger for the ring are acquired non-invasively and are transmitted in bluetooth to a smartphone or a computer that generates sounds or music related to the movements.

Discussion:
A paradigmatic innovation: learning and discovering, even with cognitive impairments

General principle:
The postulate of interactions creation is based on the aesthetic and sensitive dimension, in order to encourage non-verbal communication supported by artistic sharing.
Indeed, elderly people with semantic and episodic memory disorders (especially those with Alzheimer's disease) still have the capability of learning related to procedural memorization [1]. The project helps the residents to re-appropriate their learning capacity through their gesture and listening. It is a question of combining the sonic and gestural dimensions to invest the person more deeply in each of them: the evolution of the sound according to the gesture allows her to have a better representation of her gesture, and the movement brings to a fine listening of the sounds which it triggers. The musical aspect is taken into account, to arouse the curiosity of the persons, as well as their pleasure.

Three relational spaces:
Painting allows a personal work: graphic creativity is supported by the sounds of the device. The dance opens the space of the dual relationship: with mirror movements between the artist and the resident person for example. The work is also done in groups around sound production with the combination of classical instruments (xylophones, percussion) and connected devices.

Originality of the workshops:
The interest of residents is aroused by the intervention of people with an artistic and relational sensibility. Classical workshops for dependent elderly people focus on performing exercises (questions / answers on everyday or personal themes, games of throwing foam balloons, ...). Beyond the cognitive and motor stimulation of these exercises, the IIWAC project workshops touch on artistic and sensitive dimensions. Residents find access to learning skills through emotional openness.

Results:
The significant impact of the three types of workshop was noted in terms of the well-being of the residents, as well by direct testimonials from them, as by the caregivers and health managers in the hospital department. People who had been locked in on themselves, suggesting that the disease was at an advanced stage, have found relational capacities, an openness to themselves and to others.

References:
[1] Zanetti et al. 2001, Effectiveness of procedural memory stimulation in mild Alzheimer’s disease patients: A controlled study, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, vol. 11, n? 3-4, p. 263-272, juill. 2001.

Keywords:

Relational learning, cognitive impairments, connected objects.