About Us
Our Background:
The Happy, Healthy and Well program is for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their caregivers and their families. The program teaches people how to become healthier by taking good care of their bodies, eating nutritious foods and being active. We created the program in response to the Surgeon General’s 2005 report which called for ways to improve the health of adults with disabilities in the United States. In Maine we put together a team to try to do just that. Our team was made up of people from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service and consumers of developmental disabilities services. Our Happy, Healthy and Well program is one-of-a-kind because the information is shared in a way that many adults with developmental disabilities understand and enjoy.
Our Program:
At the heart of Happy, Healthy and Well are the written materials created for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They make learning about health and wellness fun. They include:
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Our Learning:
Happy, Healthy and Well works best at agencies where the directors or supervisors are excited about health and wellness. Agencies that are already doing things to help consumers become healthier have the most success with our program. Sometimes the caregivers who work with our materials also begin to make changes to improve their own health!