Using the Health Matters Curriculum with the Project SEARCH Program Model

View presentation on HealthMatters Program YouTube Playlist
Date and time: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 1:00 pm CDT
Duration: 1 hour
Handouts: Online Resources and PowerPoint Presentation

Description: Using the Health Matters Curriculum with the Project SEARCH Program Model Health and fitness are critical to achieving and maintaining competitive employment. With this in mind, we have developed guidelines for integrating the Health Matters curriculum into the Project SEARCH program year. The guidelines align Health Matters lesson plans with the 8 subject areas of the Project SEARCH course of study and provide a week-by-week blueprint for curriculum delivery. In this presentation we will discuss the guideline document and share knowledge gained through a pilot trial of the curriculum guidelines at 10 Project SEARCH sites throughout Ohio.

Presenters: Maryellen Daston, PhD works with the Project SEARCH central administrative team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center where she manages the Project SEARCH database, develops online training modules, manages content for the Project SEARCH website, and writes and edits articles for professional journals and other communications. She also researches funding opportunities, writes grant proposals, and oversees research related to Project SEARCH. In addition, Maryellen co-authored the book on the history, philosophy, and practices that define the Project SEARCH model, “High School Transition that Works: Lessons Learned from Project SEARCH”, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Karen Guo, PhD, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist. She achieved her BS degree in Psychology at the University of Michigan and Doctorate of Occupational Therapy at the Ohio State University. She began her collaboration with Health Matters and Project SEARCH as a graduate student studying health education and promotion for individuals with developmental disabilities and continues as part of the team to create a usable guideline for instructors to routinely implement Health Matters into their Project SEARCH Curriculum.

Beth Marks, PhD, RN, FAAN is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago and a Director of the HealthMatters Program. Beth directs research programs on empowerment and advancement of persons with disabilities. She has published numerous articles and books related to health promotion, health advocacy, and primary health care for people with disabilities. She co-produced a film entitled “Open the Door, Get ‘Em a Locker: Educating Nursing Students with Disabilities.” She has also authored two books published in 2010 entitled Health Matters: The Exercise and Nutrition Health Education Curriculum for People with Developmental Disabilities and Health Matters for People with Developmental Disabilities: Creating a Sustainable Health Promotion Program.

Jasmina Sisirak, PhD, MPH is Research Assistant Professor and an Associate Director of the HealthMatters Program in the Department of Disability and Human Development at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her research interests consist of nutrition, health literacy, and health promotion for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She coordinates several health promotion projects in the RRTCDD; and has written publications and presented papers in the area of disability, health, and nutrition. Jasmina has co-authored two books entitled Health Matters: The Exercise and Nutrition Health Education Curriculum for People with Developmental Disabilities and Health Matters for People with Developmental Disabilities: Creating a Sustainable Health Promotion Program.

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