It's a common fact that the respect of personal autonomy and the right to preserve the will and desires of the person sometimes conflict with the guarantee of personal security and the protection that is socially established for people whose intellectual faculties have been depleted for health reasons and, as a consequence, entails a reduction in their capacity for self-care and personal competence. On the one hand, the person may not want to face the seriousness and irreversible character of his illness and, on the other hand, it may be that the person is unable to be fully aware of what is happening. The cognitive problems characteristic of AD inevitably lead to a poor perception of danger situations and their own limits, which can lead to serious risks to their safety and that of others.

In recent years, innovative approaches have been developed that allow Persons with Alzheimer (PWA) to develop a life as full as possible outside the healthcare environment, improving their Quality of Life (QoL), as well as ICT Tools (Apps and Assistive Technologies) that enhance their autonomy, in a secure environment with the precise supports.

However, Autonomy, and therefore QoL, of these persons still nowadays limited or developed in non-self and supported environments due to a lack of:

• Awareness and motivation to this group on the importance of maintaining the Autonomy, within a security and support environment, as an element of QoL for PWA and their families.
• Knowledge about how to be keep Autonomy in the implementation of daily routines
• Knowledge about tools, including ICT Tools (Apps and Assistive Technologies), to support the autonomy of PWA. • Knowledge of techniques for the emotional management of impairment and acceptance the reality of the illness
• Involvement and support of families and caregivers

AD-AUTONOMY is launched with the main objective of increasing the competences (attitudes, skills, knowledge) of Persons with Initial/Mild Alzheimer (PwA), Families and Caregivers, about how to improve Quality of Life of PWA through Autonomy through an innovative training program.

The project has the next specific objectives:

• Aware and motivate this group on the importance of maintaining the autonomy of people, within a security and support environment, as an element of QoL for PWA and their families.
• To increase the Autonomy of PWA for taking decisions and live independently with a global Wellbeing and QoL approach.
• Transfer good practices and recommendations to this group to promote Autonomy through training in the execution of daily routines
• Transfer tools, including Apps and Assistive Technologies, to support the processes of empowering and increasing Autonomy of PWA.
• Transfer techniques for the emotional management of impairment associated with illness and related problems, based on the concept of mindfulness.
• Involve professionals an supports

Cooperation of organizations at European level is needed:

• Experts and end users coming from different environments and countries with specific cultures, technological and socio-economic levels, must base tailored and adapted development of the training methodology and tools in the exchange of experiences and evaluation.
• Autonomy guidelines will be adapted with national criteria, depending on technological availability, socio-economic levels, cultural positioning of PWA, etc., delivering a training program applicable to almost any European region.
• European Multiplier will be possible with the cooperation of Associations from different countries and their networks.