Health and Health Promotion Training for Agency Staff and Adults with I/DD
Training Staff: Beth Marks, RN, PhD, Jasmina Sisirak, MPH, & Tamar Heller, PhD

The RRTC will initially provide health promotion training to 108 individuals with I/DD and 63 staff in Illinois, Indiana, New York, and Florida as the RRTC develops and evaluates a train-the-trainer version of its highly successful curriculum “Exercise and Nutrition Health Education Curriculum for Adults with Developmental Disabilities. The New York training, which runs through 2006, is an initiative of the state Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. The RRTC will evaluate the efficacy of two staff training approaches: the traditional classroom model and a web-based model using self-paced modules. The health promotion curriculum is an innovative interactive twelve-week program where participants are encouraged to examine their attitudes toward health, food, and exercise; gain skills and knowledge about healthy eating and exercising; participate in and identify their preferences in each activity; and locate places in the community where they can exercise. The curriculum incorporates opportunities for making choices, self-determination, self-advocacy, and problem solving techniques.