Background. Rarely is the construct of happiness found in literature salient to the concerns of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).  The devaluation of people with disabilities combined with their many competing needs, has cast shadows on the importance of happiness. Issues of consent competency, as well as attitudinal barriers have impeded the inclusion of many individuals with developmental disabilities in qualitative research.

Aims Using first person narratives, I will present specifically how positive psychology constructs complement and confound variables related to happiness and quality of life (QOL).  The ways in which a broader inclusion of positive psychology can bridge the gaps where QOL concepts fall short will be described.

Method. Twenty individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities participated in an open-ended interview that began with the prompt “what makes you happy?” or “describe a time when you were happy.”  All interviews were transcribed for purposes of analysis.  The primary and secondary themes that were identified are described in the results.

Results In summary, the predominant themes of the participants’ narratives revolved around relationships with family, friends, staff, and pets. Their experiences of happiness included everyday family activities as well as once in a lifetime trips to far-away places.  Achievement was also a notable theme.  Participants discussed the thrill of accomplishment – be it the opportunity to do a task independently, or to hold a job in an integrated community environment.  Additionally, experiences of loss were reported by many of the participants, and permeated all the categories of relationships also identified as making the participants most happy (family, friends, staff, and pets).

Conclusion Several common variables correlated to happiness in typically developing populations, specifically the impact of active lives, the role of meaningful relationships, choice making and accomplishment, also hold true for individuals with IDD, indicating that the understanding and experience of happiness for people with disabilities, is as important as those without.