Nutrition Education for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

 

Project Description

This project, started in 2008, provides training, resources and technical assistance to caregivers who provide services to adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities.  The objective of the project is to empower caregivers to guide the consumers they serve to take responsibility for their own health and to make good choices for healthful eating and being physically active.  With increased knowledge and skills, the caregivers can enhance their nutrition education efforts to impact the food and physical activity choices of the consumers they serve.   In FY 2008 these partners collaborated to produce a set of wellness materials for consumers and their caregivers, called Happy Healthy and Well (HHW).  The majority of the HHW content focuses on nutrition and physical activity.  HHW includes consumer guides, caregiver guides and resource notebooks.  All materials are available on the internet at http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/cfl/hhw.  

 

Methods:

Agency staff provide nutrition education at the residences and day programs that serve adults with disabilities.  Methods include cooking and other hands-on nutrition education activities in small groups, and nutrition education provided by one-to-one contact between a caregiver and the consumer they serve. 

Key partners: 

USM Muskie School
DHHS, Maine CDC
DHHS, Ofice of Adults with Cognitive and Physical Disabilities (OACPD)   

MNN staff:

Chris Sady, Madeleine Martin, Deb Richards


Staff contact:

Chris Sady, MS, RD
45 Commerce Drive, Suite 11, Augusta, ME 04330
P: 207/626-5242
F: 207/626-5210
csady@usm.maine.edu

 

Program resources and the link:

Happy, Healthy and Well materials on the Web: http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/cfl/HHW