COMPAs+

The Research Center of the Montreal University Institute of Geriatrics (CRIUGM) offers the application, COmmunication Proche Aidant, or COMPAs, a tool to enable communication between people with communication disorders following a stroke or dementia and their caregivers, whether they are caregivers, relatives, or family members. The COMPAs application is based on research findings that clearly show that memories with significant and positive emotional significance can act as triggers for communication when it is affected by a stroke or another brain disease, including Alzheimer's disease. The COMPAs application allows you to group, on a secure platform, photos from different periods in the person's life, songs that have marked their personal life, and videos of significant moments, all with the goal of promoting communication. COMPAs enables positive exchanges and, in turn, helps reduce feelings of isolation and improve the quality of life of people living with communication disorders. The COMPAs app was designed to allow multiple people to act as communication partners for the same person with communication difficulties, as it allows multiple members of the person's family and friends to be invited to the same sharing space. Each use of COMPAs allows the caregiver to navigate through personalized photo, music, or film spaces in a simple and spontaneous manner. COMPAs can also encourage sharing between caregivers and professionals. Caregivers can write comments in a dedicated space and share this information with another loved one or a professional working with the person with communication difficulties. This information sharing allows for better monitoring of the progress of the person with communication difficulties and keeping track of the most challenging communication items. COMPAs can be useful for people with acquired verbal communication disorders, such as those with brain injuries or head trauma, and those with dementia, even in advanced stages. Its "tablet app" format offers great usability, thanks to its intuitive and ergonomic design. You can modify the content at any time, adding or removing items according to your loved one's progress. Hyperlinked practical guides and YouTube tutorials allow for quick familiarization with the tool. COMPAs is the first application that allows users to build a customizable audiovisual space, taking into account the cultural and individual characteristics of the recipient, with the goal of better communicating with a person experiencing communication difficulties, whether following a stroke, dementia, or other illnesses associated with aging. Furthermore, COMPAS allows for monitoring of the person's progress in their communication skills, thanks to feedback from their caregiver. In this way, COMPAS promotes meaningful communication between people with communication difficulties and their loved ones and serves to collect data related to topic preferences, which is the most effective means of establishing communication with the person with the disorder.