ABLE Music: Arts-Based Exercise Enhancing LongEvity

The ABLE Music platform is co-creation project in collaboration with older adults with dementia and their caregivers, to provide unique pair or group interactions and intergenerational play by transforming movement into art experiences (digital painting and musical creation) in order to enhance wellness (physical, mood, cognitive). The ABLE Music platform advances current research on dementia that tends to, a) not be interactive, b) not exploit digital tools, and c) doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to engage families and caregivers, reduce their stress, and restore identity, dignity and relationships. These advancements are built on research that demonstrates the benefits of: bright colour palettes’ ability to stimulate older adults with dementia, music and painting experiences that reflect the memories and preferences of older adults, and intergenerational gaming that will allow younger children and adults to teach older adults digital gaming skills. Art combined with movement has a synergistic effect – it has the power to enhance mood, physical health and cognition. Reducing depression makes us less susceptible to cognitive & memory impairment, due to depression ageing the brain. Arts-based and Montessori-based approaches increase communication, episodic memory, and relationships between People with Dementia (PwD) and their family members and caregivers. Crip approaches to design can help researchers center PwD and caregiver perspectives in treatment plans, in addition to rethinking how power can influence the research process.