We are coming up to our last training sessions held at Inclusion WA for the year. We do however, still have availability for in-house training on a range of subjects at your organisation.

Recently we ran our Professional Boundaries workshop for staff at Uniting Care West where we explored the complexities of working with marginalised people and knowing ‘where to draw the line’. This is a workshop about working smarter, not harder, and teaches us that by looking after ourselves properly we will have great relationships with the people we work with and not be at risk of doing too much and burning out.

If you’d like us to run this workshop, or any others, for your organisation please get in touch with us.

We also wanted to share a really great organisation that we were introduced to by Leighton Jay, from Sotica. They are called Youniverse and I would encourage you to read about their work and the learning that they offer. 

This is a workshop designed to introduce the fundamentals of inclusion whilst providing a background on what disabilities are and how we can work better to include people with disabilities.

Topics covered:

• Disability awareness – including information on disability and relevant statistics
• Exploring the political correctness minefield – strategies to overcome those uncomfortable “foot in mouth” situations
• Strategies for comfortable and appropriate communication with people with disabilities
• Uncovering prevalent community attitudes to disability
• The inclusion spectrum – how to apply inclusion theory in the work you do, through adapting and modifying the activity or the environment for the person

This workshop relies on drawing parallels.  You will think about a good life in the context of community, drawing from your uniquely human experience to consider the way connections with others are made and enhanced. This same thinking will then be analysed based on what we know about the people we support.

This workshop will encourage you to think about your version of a fulfilling life, and relate that to what others may see as a rich life for themselves. The entire premise of this workshop is about exploring the richness of life and the ways we can support others to share in that richness.

Youniverse is a "self-organising community of learning and practice which provides support for the establishment of individual Microboards."

Youniverse is predominantly made up of people with disabilities, their families and Microboard members who are working to establish individual Microboards.

Microboards are a unique way of supporting people with disabilities to achieve good lives in the community. Originally developed in Canada by the Vela Microboard Association, Microboards involve small groups of people, typically committed family and friends, coming together on an ongoing basis to provide individualised and empowering support for a particular person. A Microboard needs a minimum of six people and works best with 8-10 people.

Youniverse offer learning and resources and the first resource to be hosted by them is a four-part webinar series on microboards. This webinar series has been created in response to strong national interest in microboards as a means for people having more choice and control in their life. The first installment of the series titled ’What is a microboard?’ is available now and is free for individual use.