Connection Starts with an Introduction Michael Smull & Line Plourde-Kelly January 2008

Understanding Roles and Contributions Create your own people map Pick an activity that you enjoy with someone from your people map.

In pairs, take turns telling your partner: 1.Who do you look forward to seeing/ spending time with? 2. Why do you enjoy spending time with him/her? 3. What do they do that you appreciate is their contribution – describe it. 4. During this activity, do different people have different roles? 5. Is the role formal or informal? 6. Share your freshest thinking with the group.

Taking into account the person and the circumstance 1.How would you introduce someone with a disability label to the group? 2. What would you need to know? What would be the best way to do it? 3. What would it take for you to be comfortable making the introduction?

Thinking about what you learned and how you tailored it to the circumstance: 1.What can we learn and how does it apply to introducing people with disability labels? 2. Share your freshest thinking with the group.

Pick someone you like who uses your services: 1.Consider the learning weve done, captured on flip chart & using what we know about the person. 2. In pairs, plan and role play an introduction. 3. Share your freshest thinking with the group.

Learn from what has not worked 1.Think about the times you, or someone else, has tried to join a group and it hasnt worked. 2. Share your story with your partner. 3. What does this tell us about our work? 4. Share your freshest thinking with the group.

RELATIONSHIPS TAKE TIME 1. In pairs, take turns discussing: 2. How welcoming are the groups that you spend time with? 2. Do some groups welcome and include people quickly? 3. Do others take much more time? 4. What advise would you give to someone new to a group that welcomes quickly? 5. What advise would you give to someone new to a group that welcomes slowly? 6. What are the implications of this to our efforts? 7. Share your freshest thinking with the group.

NOT EVERY EFFORT WORKS 1.While we want every effort to work, we know from experience that not every effort will work. 2. Make sure you set out more than 1 effort to allow for this.

PLAN 1.Think about how you will introduce someone that you work with. 2. Based on everything youve learned, how will you introduce someone you work with? 3. Come up with 2 places, activities and/or groups. 4. Look at what people like and admire about the person. 5. Think about how you would use those for the introduction you are planning on. 6. Think about the support the person will need to be successful, account for the ease of welcome.

PLAN FOR FOLLOW-UP Make sure everyone has access to learning logs. Set date to meet for follow-up meeting. Create a Working/Not Working sort or a 4+1 session to work through the kinks.