In H.A.P.P.Y. 'young' means anyone from 1 year to 99 years
Happiness in Autism Personal Project for Young People
H.A.P.P.Y. is a program that results in an autism friendly and personalized workbook with suggestions for activities that are concretizations of 10 evidence based wellbeing strategies. The program was created by Peter Vermeulen who is an international speaker on autism.
Why was H.A.P.P.Y. Created?
Well-being research has identified several strategies that increase the happiness and wellbeing of people. While it goes without saying that many things which make non-autistic people happy also make autistic people happy, Peter Vermeulen believes that these evidence based wellbeing strategies cannot be applied to autistic people without taking into account their unique profile of perceiving and understanding the world.
Autism and Happiness
Research has traditionally approached well-being in autism from a negative point of view in which the focus has been on mental health issues, and finding ways to reduce difficult feelings such as stress and anxiety. However, Peter Vermeulen believes it's time for researchers to shift their focus and view happiness in autism through the lens of positive psychology. Changing the focus in this way helps us to understand what makes autistic people thrive so we can support them with living their best life, rather than just settling for a reduction in their levels of stress and anxiety.
You can find out more about Peter Vermeulen and his work here.
What does a H.A.P.P.Y. Coach do?
To start with, I will ask you to complete a questionnaire so that I can learn about your (or your child's) current level of well-being, unique living situation, and wishes for a happy life. Then I will provide you with some psycho-education on happiness; what it is and what it isn't.
The next step is to develop a unique and personalized workbook based on the information provided in the questionnaire. This workbook will contain suggestions and recommendations on how to increase your well-being (or your child's), and are grouped into 10 categories covering the different evidence based strategies.
Once the H.A.P.P.Y workbook is completed and discussed with you (and your child if appropriate) and any professionals you would like to involve, you can begin to implement the suggestions and recommendations.
From neurodiversity to neuroharmony
Peter Vermeulen
How is neuroharmony different from neurodiversity?
The neurodiversity movement has helped us to understand that people experience and interact with the world in different ways. There are many advantages to grouping people into different neurodivergent types as this helps them access support and understanding when they're experiencing challenges, connect with people who have lived experience, and also develop a sense of cultural identity and pride in their particular type of neurodivergence.
Neuroharmony is a term that was created by Peter Vermeulen, as he believes it's also important to focus on similarities. Diagnostic labels are helpful but they're not the only thing that define a person. When we focus too much on differences it can create a sense of division and separateness, rather than connection. No brain is the same as we all have our own unique profile of strengths and challenges. Neuroharmony is the idea that we are all unique notes in the same piece of music, and it is only by developing an appreciation of the whole person rather than hyperfocusing on labels that we can allow each individual to find their particular place in the music. Our societal song will be a richer and more immersive experience when all brains are fully included and play an active part.