(ABSTRACT) Development of Nutrition Curriculum for Adults with I/DD in a Mentoring Program

Adults with Intellectually/Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) face a variety of physical, social, and medical challenges that can be compounded by poor nutrition. The characteristics inherent to this population create unique obstacles in addressing their nutrition needs.Relevance: Adults with I/DD have reported a higher prevalence of obesity and inactivity than the general population. Therefore, the purpose was to develop a three-part collaborative nutrition education series with The Arc of Greensboro focusing on key knowledge and skills aimed at improving the self-efficacy of the Greensboro I/DD adult community.Priority: Education, advocacy and prevention within curriculum development has not taken into consideration specially-abled adults.Originality: The creation of the nutrition curriculum is part of a larger research study to improve the quality of life for this population through workshops and mentorship from North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University Family Consumer Sciences (FCS) students.Synthesis: Interviews were conducted using open-ended questions with The Arc program coordinators to identify areas of need/interest for nutrition education. Nutritional themes that emerged were used to create a three-part nutrition education series focusing on MyPlate, grocery shopping and food safety. FCS student mentors under the supervision of a registered dietitian presented the nutrition series. FCS mentors were assessed for nutrition knowledge pre- and post- program implementation (mean 65%, range 49%-70% to mean 74%, range 43%-84%). Additionally, post-program interviews and surveys completed by the adults with I/DD mentees, mentors and The Arc program coordinators indicated high satisfaction with nutrition lessons and provided evidence of beneficial nutrition knowledge application in participants' everyday lives