ADMR Interview of Aube

Feedback from the ADMR of Aube on the use of BeBuzz multiplayer games

 

 

BeBuzz is our box of multiplayer games, which connects to a television screen or a projector. Seniors respond to the games using a tactile buzzer, allowing them to compete against each other. Several games are offered: Quizzle, general knowledge quizzes, Intruder Hunt, Calculus, Musical Ear, and Simili.

The BeBuzz games create interaction among players, a bit of challenge, and allow everyone to participate and feel valued!

 

We interviewed the ADMR of Aube, which has been using BeBuzz for several months now.

 

Interview with the ADMR of Aube, user of BeBuzz, the collective games that buzz

Emilie BARUTELLO, psychologist, and Aurane LORION, project manager at the ADMR of Aube, kindly answered Jeannette’s questions about the implementation of BeBuzz TV, the “questions for a champion” in real life, within their organization.

 

Can you describe the context of the implementation of this project?

 

In September 2016, the Conference of Funders for the Prevention of Loss of Autonomy (chaired by the Department of Aube and vice-chaired by the Regional Health Agency) supported the ADMR federation of Aube in setting up a prevention project aimed at seniors aged 60 and over.

This project, called “Les Ateliers du Vill’Âge”, aims to prevent and delay the onset of loss of autonomy in our elders. The “ateliers du Vill’Âge” is a program of 8 activities offered in various municipalities of the Aube department. 8 complementary themes are addressed: nutrition, sophrology, driving, computer science, sleep, laughter therapy, balance, and finally memory.

These activities are open to all seniors in Aube aged at least 60 years and are completely free. We never intervene in nursing homes, as the public is not the one targeted in the Department’s prevention program. We directly contact the municipalities so that they can provide us with facilities to host the activities (community halls, CCAS, etc.).

Our goal is to democratize access to workshops through their playful aspect. It is in this context that we oriented our memory workshop around the game “BeBuzz”.

 

Introduce us to the role of Mrs. BARUTELLO within the ADMR.

 

Emilie BARUTELLO, psychologist specialized in Gerontology, leads the memory workshop of the Ateliers du Vill’Âge. She applies her training and professional experience in the neuropsychology of aging to the prevention actions for memory diseases carried out by the ADMR federation of Aube.

 

 

 

Why choose the BeBuzz box of collective games and for what use?

 

The prevention service of the ADMR of Aube suggested using BeBuzz to set up workshops that are as playful as possible. Emilie BARUTELLO was initially skeptical about associating digital tools with the audience she would meet, but she ultimately discovered an intuitive and simple tool. Once familiar with the operation and content, she accepted the challenge.

A workshop operates in two distinct phases, each lasting one hour:

• The first consists of quickly explaining the functioning of the aging brain compared to that of a young brain. Emilie explains how it becomes “slower,” but also what it gains over the years.

The goal of this workshop is primarily to demystify the slowing down of memory in our elders.

 

 

 

 

Inevitably, the “Alzheimer’s’s phobia” is also addressed, which has become in the collective consciousness and among the elderly “the inevitable disease of the old,” completely overshadowing other age-related pathologies. “Just because we age doesn’t mean Alzheimer’s’s disease is necessarily lurking! It’s mainly inattention that makes you think you’re losing your mind!” Emilie emphasizes during each of her interventions.

 

Then comes the moment of using BeBuzz…

• This second phase allows for the illustration of the previous statements through practical application and real-time demonstration of the efficiency of the aging brain.

Participants are invited to form groups of 3 or 4 (for 5 buzzers) and choose a name for their team: this little time allows them to familiarize themselves with the tactile aspect of the phones, to choose who will manage the buzzer, to identify those less comfortable with the tool or with the group.

 

 

While each group tests their knowledge and answers the 10 questions per activity: Emilie identifies the response mechanisms, the different roles of each in the group dynamic, and the strategies of each in problem-solving.

Then comes the time for debriefing and observations from everyone.

 

 

The goal is to become aware that, like for each of us, daily life and the automation of gestures lead to a total automation of thoughts.

This autopilot certainly brings a time-saving and a certain comfort, but it also leads to a routine, a need for comfort, and thus a total loss of surprise necessary for adapting to new situations (which our brain actually loves).

The end of the workshop is an opportunity to summarize the awareness gained, the experiences of each participant, and finally to address the preventive aspect of the workshop.

 

 

 

 

What are the advantages of using such a tool?

 

 

 

Easy to use, unifying for the group that finds itself gathered around the same tool, BeBuzz allows everyone to become aware of what is happening in real-time when they need to:

• make a decision,
• face a choice,
• answer a question,
• be confronted with urgency,
• recognize a known sound or not.

Finally, it especially allows for debate among all participants and thus fosters the feeling of being surrounded and not feeling alone in the situation.

 

What feedback do the beneficiaries of these actions provide?

 

At the end of each workshop, time is dedicated to debriefing. Indeed, for some participants, this is a first concrete exposure to digital technology.

Apprehension is present even for those who have their own mobile phone or e-reader at home. Naturally, they do not know this particular tool.

To date, there has never been a participant reluctant to use the tool, which is intended to be simple and intuitive. However, the more hesitant ones do not hesitate to leave the responsibility of the buzzer to another participant. The moment is meant to be playful, surprising (as it is out of routine), and initiates a desire to renew the experience.

 

 

 

 

What does new technology bring to participants, and do they grasp it easily?

 

Smartphones, which serve as buzzers, often surprise seniors at the beginning of the session. They wonder how a phone can be connected to a video projector and find it strange. Then, as the session progresses, they learn to handle the tool and end up knowing how to use it independently by the end of the game.

We always welcome around twenty participants for each activity, so seniors play around the buzzer in groups of about 4 to 5 people. The more experienced can then pass on their knowledge of digital technology to the novices.

 

 

 

What are the projects of ADMR de l’Aube?

 

 

 

Since September 2016, and thanks to the Conference of Funders for the Prevention of Loss of Autonomy, the prevention service of the ADMR federation of Aube has deployed more than 283 prevention workshops in over 38 municipalities in the Aube department. This also means that more than 3000 seniors have benefited from the Vill’âge Workshops.

 

In addition to this program and still thanks to the same funders, the ADMR federation of Aube also carries the MONALISA project (National Mobilization Against the Isolation of the Elderly). As its name indicates, the objective of this project is to combat the isolation of seniors throughout the Aube department. To do this, 2 mission coordinators and a volunteer facilitator work daily to implement collective and playful actions to break the isolation of our elders. They also organize numerous meetings with various stakeholders in our department to promote partnership and networking to raise awareness of the cause and thus enable them to detect elderly people in situations of isolation.

 

The ADMR of Aube is therefore investing through these two projects and calling on many qualified service providers such as Emilie BARUTELLO, to enable our elders to age well at home and attempts to best meet their needs and expectations.

 

Are you interested and would you like to discover BeBuzz TV within your structure as well?