Engagement in creative occupations has been shown to promote well-being for older adults with dementia. Providing access to such occupations is often difficult, as successful participation requires face-time with a person who is knowledgeable in facilitating engagement as well as access to any required resources, such as an arts studio. In response, a computer-based device, the Engaging Platform for Art Development (ePAD), was created to with the aim of enabling more independent access to art creation, ePAD is a an artificially intelligent touch-screen device that estimates a client's level of engagement and provides prompts to encourage engagement if the client becomes disengaged. ePAD is customizable such that an art therapist can choose themes and tools that they feel reflect their client's needs and preferences. This article presents a mixed-methods study that evaluated ePAD's usability by six older adult (with mild-to-moderate dementia) and art therapist dyads. Usability measures suggest that all participants found ePAD engaging but did not find prompts effective. Future development of ePAD includes improving the prompts, implementing the recommendations made by participants in this research, and long-term testing in more naturalistic art therapy contexts.

key words: dynamical systems theory, older adulthood ABSTRACT This study used a phenomenological approach to explore the relationship between habitual occupations and environmental features that can support aging-in-place with 10 community-dwelling older adults. In their respective interviews, participants were asked to consider community supports and other adaptations they used to maintain participation in response to changes as they grew older or encountered health difficulties. From the transcribed data, themes were identified using an open coding process and verified by an external peer auditor. Results underscore the inextricable link between older individuals, their environment, and maintaining participation in habits of meaning. Findings are discussed using a transactional model of occupation, namely dynamical systems theory. By using habits as the central focus, this study provides a unique opportunity to examine how key supports at a community level, including design of the physical environment and other policies, can promote continued participation in older adulthood.

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