Figure 1: JECRIPE -a game for children with special needs AbtractThere are not many initiatives in the area of game development for children with special needs, specially children with Down syndrome. The major purpose of our research is to promote cognitive development of disabled children in the context of inclusive education. In order to do so, we address aspects of interaction, communication and game design in stimulating selected cognitive abilities. By using a Human-Computer Interaction method based on the Inspection of Evaluation, it was possible to study and understand user interaction with the interface and thus examine the positive aspects as well as the communicability problems found with the JECRIPE game -a game developed specially for children with Down syndrome in pre-scholar age.

Objectives This study aims to examine the feasibility of an intergenerational remote intervention program designed to promote the wellbeing and social connection of vulnerable older adults, mainly people with aphasia and dementia during the COVID‐19 pandemic in the south of Brazil. Undergraduate students were guided to lead weekly sessions of clowning, storytelling, dancing, and cooking‐related activities for 3 months (from November/2020 to February/2021). Method The mixed‐method design of the study addresses the implementation and feasibility of the program. Data analysis considered both quantitative—number of individuals who accepted the invitation to participate, voluntary dropouts, attendance—and qualitative data—participative observation and thematic analysis of evaluative conversations. An inclusive group of 34 older adults with stroke‐induced cognitive impairments, dementia and individuals without any neurological conditions enrolled in the program based on social and racial equity principles. Feasibility and acceptability were addressed in terms of recruitment, implementation, remote evaluation, delivery of remote intervention, adherence, and attendance. Activities and participants' perceptions are described. Results The initial period of the program achieved 83.7% of adherence and sustainability for additional 3 months. Preliminary results suggest feasibility and acceptability, considering formal and informal support in digital inclusion. Participatory observations describe that the structure of sessions and activities were well received. The analysis of participants' perceptions detects the thematic saliency of feelings of social connection and a sense of having learned with the group. Conclusions Preliminary results of this study demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of the program, pointing to its potential mental health benefits.

Alzheimer's disease considerably compromises communication skills. Language changes become more prominent as the disease progresses. Deterioration of language and cognition reduces the ability of holding conversations, which has a negative impact on social interaction.OBJECTIVE:To conduct a systematic review of the literature for articles reporting interventions focused on the language and communication of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) without use of medication.METHODS:We performed a search using the keywords Alzheimer's disease, language, communication, cognition, cognitive intervention, rehabilitation and therapy, and their corresponding Portuguese and Spanish terms, on the SciELO, LILACS, PubMed and PsychINFO databases. We analyzed intervention studies published from 1993 to 2016 that involved stimulation of language skills and/or communication with pre-and post-intervention quantitative results, and whose samples included at least 50% with a diagnosis of probable AD. Studies were analyzed and classified into four levels of evidence, according to the criteria described in the literature.RESULTS:Twenty-eight articles were included. The majority of the designs had medium-to-low scientific evidence. Most interventions showed benefits for at least one language or communicative skill. Eight types of interventions emerged from the analysis of the studies. Further research with higher levels of evidence is recommended in the investigation of interventions focused on language and communication skills of patients with dementia.CONCLUSION:Studies with high levels of evidence on the topic investigated are only being conducted on a small scale. Two intervention techniques seem potentially effective: lexical-semantic approaches and interventions that work with different cognitive skills (including language).

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ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to investigate whether on-topic visual cues can serve as aids for the maintenance of discourse coherence and informativeness in autobiographical narratives of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD).MethodsThe experiment consisted of three randomized conversation conditions: one without prompts, showing a blank computer screen; an on-topic condition, showing a picture and a sentence about the conversation; and an off-topic condition, showing a picture and a sentence which were unrelated to the conversation. Speech was recorded while visual attention was examined using eye tracking to measure how long participants looked at cues and the face of the listener.ResultsResults suggest that interventions using visual cues in the form of images and written information are useful to improve discourse informativeness in AD.ConclusionThis study demonstrated the potential of using images and short written messages as means of compensating for the cognitive deficits which underlie uninformative discourse in AD. Future studies should further investigate the efficacy of language interventions based in the use of these compensation strategies for AD patients and their family members and friends.

ResumoPessoas com doença de Alzheimer apresentam dificuldades discursivas evidentes que demandam avaliação e intervenção. Para tanto, é necessário compreender as diferentes demandas de distintas tarefas discursivas. Este artigo revisa os principais estudos sobre o discurso de pessoas com doença de Alzheimer, descrevendo o desempenho discursivo dessa população em tarefas discursivas classificadas de acordo com os estilos de input fornecidos. São descritos estudos que propuseram o uso de tarefas com input neutro, conversações naturalísticas, input diretivo e facilitador e tarefas com figuras (narrativa e descrição). São discutidas as diferenças entre as tarefas discursivas, abordando habilidades discursivas afetadas e preservadas na doença de Alzheimer. São feitas considerações sobre a investigação e as aplicações clínicas das diferentes tarefas discursivas para a avaliação e a intervenção da comunicação de pessoas com doença de Alzheimer. Palavras-chave: Doença de Alzheimer; Comunicação; Tarefas discursivas; Estilos de input. AbstractPeople with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have discourse deficits which demand evaluation and intervention. For this reason, it is important to understand the different demands of different discourse tasks. This article reviews the main studies on the discourse of people with Alzheimer's disease, describing the performance of such population in discourse tasks which are classified according to their input style. Studies which used neutral input, naturalistic conversations, directive and facilitative input, and tasks which used visual stimuli to elicit narrative and descriptive discourse were described. Differences between discourse tasks focusing on preserved and affected discourse abilities in people with Alzheimer's disease were discussed. Finally, research on discourse tasks for those with Alzheimer's disease and their application in the evaluation and intervention of communication in AD is considered.

This article reports an investigation on the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms involved in knowledge management during discourse production of individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD). Two discourse variables were examined, incomplete propositions and repeated propositions. Differences between controls and participants with AD were found concerning the presence of incomplete propositions in a non-informative prompted task. Findings obtained with the informative prompted task suggested that knowledge management was more preserved in the early stage than in the later stage of AD. The majority of the neuropsychological data obtained in this study correlated with the presence of incomplete propositions. The discussion debated on whether this discourse deficit can be attributed to an impaired ability to manage knowledge provided in the context of communication.

ResumoO artigo revisa a literatura sobre a produção narrativa de crianças e adultos idosos, focalizando estudos intergeracionais. Demonstra a importância das histórias para o desenvolvimento infantil, e o papel do interlocutor neste contexto. Situa o adulto idoso como um interlocutor privilegiado, apresentando estudos que mostram o narrar como uma atividade fundamental nesta etapa da vida. O contato entre crianças e pessoas idosas tem sido promovido e estudado principalmente para verificar e modificar a percepção de um grupo sobre o outro. Parece, entretanto, prevalecer uma proposta altruísta, ao invés da concepção de uma interação proveitosa para ambos. O artigo enfatiza a relevância de alguns programas que valorizam e promovem a habilidade dos idosos em contar histórias para crianças, discutindo iniciativas brasileiras nesta área. Palavras-chave: Narrativa intergeracional; envelhecimento; crianças. AbstractThis article reviews studies on the narrative production of children and senior adults, focusing on intergenerational studies. Demonstrates the relevance of storytelling in child development and the adult's role in this context. Situates senior adults as privileged interlocutors for children, presenting studies that demonstrate narrating as a fundamental activity in this stage of life. The interaction between children and senior adults has been studied to verify and change the perception of one group upon the other. However, the altruistic proposal seems to prevail, instead of an interactionist conception that would make the most for both. There seems to be, however, a tendency for intergenerational programs to emphasize an altruistic perspective instead of an interactionist one that would be to the advantage for both. This paper emphasizes the relevance of some intergenerational programs that value and promote the aptitude of storytelling in senior adults, discussing Brazilian initiatives in this area. Keywords: Intergenerational narratives; aging; children. Narrativas IntergeracionaisA imagem de um velho contando histórias de outros tempos aos mais jovens, à beira do fogo ou ao sabor do ritmo de uma cadeira de balanço, contrasta fortemente com o andamento e as exigências de velocidade, eficiência, racionalidade e produtividade de uma sociedade urbanizada, soando como algo romântico e saudosista. Neste contexto, tanto crianças como pessoas idosas tendem a ficar à margem de onde a "vida acontece", e o espaço para contar e ouvir histórias vai se restringindo à disponibilidade circunstancial de um interlocutor ou a instituições que atendem separadamente cada faixa etária. As crianças, escutando histórias escolhidas e lidas por seus professores, e os idosos, tentando contar suas histórias de vida a quem tenha paciência para ouvi-las, são imagens mais realísticas no panorama do mundo contemporâneo.O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar ao leitor uma perspectiva abrangente da narrativa na Psicologia, focalizando estudos sobre a narrativa intergeracional. Partindo de diferentes correntes de estudo sobre a narrativa ...