Disability Advocacy Service
DAS HQ
Cohort 1 · 2026
S5 · My Future and My Plans Thursday 18 June 2026 · 11:00–13:00
connecting… –/– Classic run sheet →
11:00 Slide 1/21 Cover metia
Welcome + Acknowledgement
enter Session 5 — My Future and My Plans (cover) Mandy opens the room (or Metia, per the alignment agreement). Fold in a one-minute housekeeping refresher: toilets, assembly point, phones silent, coloured cards (green / yellow / red), food around 12:00. The room knows the drill by week five — don't drone. Watch for anyone flat or distressed on entry: quiet check-in. Keep the front tight — this is the heaviest content day of the program.
11:00 Slide 2/21 Acknowledgement of Country mandy
Welcome + Acknowledgement
enter Acknowledgement of Country Read it slow and full, straight from the screen — the locked CRR-001 holding wording, pending Lhere Artepe sign-off. Do not paraphrase, do not improvise. Mandy (or the agreed reader). Stand if the room stands; don't rush it. No fragments on this slide.
11:10 Slide 3/21 Welcome back mandy
Welcome back + roadmap + icebreaker
enter Welcome back. Connect last week to this week. Mandy names what struck her from the cohort's Keeping Strong (S4) work — without quoting any participant directly.
point Last time we mapped what keeps us strong Quick recap of S4. Don't dwell.
point This week we look forward Set the pivot: backward last week, forward this week.
point Big dreams. Goals. The shape of next year Name what today is about. Keep it light — the worksheets do the teaching.
point Next session: small steps, and getting ready for your PATH Plan day Flag what's coming so today feels like part of a sequence, not a test.
11:12 Slide 4/21 What we'll do today metia
Welcome back + roadmap + icebreaker
enter What we'll do today (the roadmap) Metia walks the roadmap. Quick — orientation, not detail. Times run 11:00–13:00 with the break at 12:00; back at 12:15.
11:15 Slide 5/21 Icebreaker mandy
Welcome back + roadmap + icebreaker
enter One thing you'd like to do in the next year Mandy runs the icebreaker and goes first with a real example, small or medium scale (locked at alignment). About 45 seconds each for a room of 12 — keep it moving. Pass is fine.
point Could be small. Could be big. Lower the stakes — any size counts.
point Could be something you used to do and want to start again. Open the door to restarting, not just new things.
point One thing each, short version. Mandy goes first. Mandy models it first, then around the room. Watch: people's 'one thing' often reappears on P7 / P8–9 later — notice it, don't comment on it now.
11:20 Slide 6/21 What is a goal? metia
What is a goal?
enter What is a goal? — four ways to say it Metia leads. Read the four statements slow, one at a time. Don't let definitions become a lecture — 10 minutes max; the stories and worksheets do the real teaching.
point Something you might feel proud about if you do it. Read it, let it land.
point Like a wish for the future. Read it.
point Something you want to do or achieve. Read it.
point Your dreams for the future. Read it. Four phrasings of the same idea — different words land for different people.
summary You can have different goals for different parts of your life — health, work, hobbies, family, where you live. Follow the slide wording exactly. If 'where you live' / where-you're-from framing surfaces, it stays an invitation — never authored (pending cultural review, CRR-005).
11:25 Slide 7/21 Goals can be many shapes metia
What is a goal?
enter Goals can be many shapes — big, medium, small Metia leads; Mandy adds the 'three sizes' line.
point Big goal — 'live independently' / 'work full time' Read the examples.
point Medium goal — 'learn to make a curry' / 'walk every morning' Read the examples.
point Small goal — 'call my sister this week' / 'organise my room' Read the examples. Mandy's line: 'I have all three sizes of goals. The small ones are the ones I actually do.'
summary All three are real goals. Not all leaders' goals are big. Land the point and move on.
11:30 Slide 8/21 Joelle's story both
Two leaders' stories — Joelle + Vivienne
enter A leader's story — Joelle and the school visit Reader per Mandy's pick (locked at alignment): Metia or Mandy reads aloud, Mandy leads the discussion. A big-goal-with-a-small-step story. About 5 minutes total.
point Joelle's story (read aloud) Read the story as written — carried verbatim, do not re-voice. PAUSE after reading; let it sit. Watch the room during the reading. If anyone is in active AOD recovery (Metia knows the cohort going in), watch closely and check in privately during the break — don't avoid the story, it's a really useful goal-shape.
point What did Joelle do that you'd call leadership? Open the discussion; Mandy leads. If the room goes quiet, that's thinking, not failure: 'These stories make people think. That's OK.'
point What was her big goal? What was a small step? Draw out the big-goal / small-step shape — the school talk; looking at the room the night before. Don't answer for them.
point Who was on her team? Surface the team idea — niece, support worker, colleagues, three school kids. If anyone looks distressed at the story, Mandy sits beside them, offers 'want to step out for a minute?' and steps out with them while Metia continues.
11:40 Slide 9/21 Vivienne's story both
Two leaders' stories — Joelle + Vivienne
enter Another leader's story — Vivienne and the language class Read aloud (reader per Mandy's pick); Mandy leads the discussion. A goal-as-slow-mastery story. About 5 minutes total.
point Vivienne's story (read aloud) Read the story as written — verbatim, no re-voicing, no embellishment. PAUSE. CRR-005 / CRR-011: discussion stays on Vivienne's LEADERSHIP — showing up, ten years of practice, helping learners feel less awkward. Do NOT stray into what Arrernte language is or means, or whether people should learn it — not ours to author.
point Ten years. What does that tell you about goals? Draw out goals-as-slow-mastery. Mandy leads.
point What's something Vivienne does that you've already done in some way? Connect her leadership to the room's own experience.
point What's hard about goals that take a long time? Name the difficulty honestly. If a participant brings their own connection to language programs, listen and reflect, do not interpret. If 'should I learn Arrernte?' comes up: 'That's between you and the language program if you want to approach them' — don't author a view (flag for cultural-review reflection in the debrief).
11:50 Slide 10/21 My Future (section divider) metia
My Future (P7)
enter My Future — booklet page 7 Section divider into Part 1. Metia intros. Hand out the My Future worksheet (P7) — NOT P8–9 yet; the staged handout manages focus.
11:52 Slide 11/21 My Future — your worksheet both
My Future (P7)
enter Two boxes on your sheet Metia intros the sheet; Mandy models one of her own answers per box — brief, real, rehearsed (locked at alignment). This block is a start, not a finish — P7 keeps going after the break and at home.
point What is most important to me? The people, places and things you care about. This box is the natural place for Country, family in language-group terms, ceremony or kinship to surface. If it does: listen, reflect ('Thanks for sharing that with us'), never interpret or author (CRR-005 / CRR-011).
point What are my big dreams? Big dreams can be small or huge — both real. 'What if I don't have any dreams?' → 'That's an answer too. Write I'm not sure yet and we'll come back to it.' Don't invent dreams for anyone.
summary Write, draw, or ask us to scribe. Mandy shares one answer per box first. Hand the pens over. Both facilitators offer scribing — the words stay the participant's. Participants begin P7.
12:00 Slide 12/21 Break all
Break + lunch
enter Break — back at 12:15 15 min standard; extend to 20 in cold weather or after a heavy story block. Both facilitators move around — soft check-ins, no agenda. Priority: anyone moved by either story, anyone struggling with P7. Stage the P8–9 + EXAMPLES + QUESTIONS handouts ready — don't lay them out yet.
12:25 Slide 13/21 My Plans (section divider) metia
My Plans (P8–9)
enter My Plans — booklet pages 8 and 9 Transition at the handover. Hand out My Plans (P8–9) + the EXAMPLES handout; QUESTIONS handout is optional, only for anyone who wants prompts. Framing: 'Now we're going from your big-picture future to the specifics of three parts of your life.'
12:27 Slide 14/21 Three parts of your life metia
My Plans (P8–9) — three domains + leader goals
enter Three parts of your life Metia introduces the three domains.
point Health and Fitness — body, food, sleep, doctor, mental health Read the domain and its scope.
point Hobbies — what you do for fun, art, sport, going out Read the domain.
point Learning and Work — paid jobs, volunteering, training, studying Read the domain.
summary What do you want to do or achieve in each one? And — what are your goals as a leader? Pose the question that drives the worksheet, including the leader-goals row.
12:30 Slide 15/21 What might it look like? (CA examples) both
My Plans (P8–9) — three domains + leader goals
enter What might it look like? — CA examples Metia walks the examples one column at a time. Mandy shares 1–2 of her own per domain (locked at alignment): 'This is what some other people might write. Mine would look different.'
point Health & Fitness examples (Simpson's Gap walk, doctor at Congress, cut down on smokes) Read the column aloud. Examples, not a checklist.
point Hobbies examples (footy carnival, Beanie Festival, DAS movie night) Read the column aloud.
point Learning & Work examples (volunteer, more NDIS hours, work that fits with ceremony when called) Read the column aloud. 'Get paid work that fits with ceremony when I'm called' is a participant-led option, never a prescription (CRR-011). Don't pre-resolve country / Country if it surfaces — ask softly 'What does that look like for you?' and listen (CRR-005).
summary These are examples, not a checklist. Yours can be totally different. Make it explicit. Point to the EXAMPLES sheet on the table. If running behind, this slide cuts to one row per domain.
12:35 Slide 16/21 Leader goals both
My Plans (P8–9) — three domains + leader goals
enter Leader goals — one more row on your sheet Tie the two stories back to the participant's own leader-goal row. This is a line that must never be cut for time.
point Joelle's big goal was the school talk — small step: looking at the room the night before Recall Joelle as the worked example.
point Vivienne's leader goal: helping new learners feel less awkward Recall Vivienne as the worked example.
point Yours might be at DAS, at your provider, on your team — or somewhere else Keep it open. 'I don't want to be a leader' → leave the row blank, or write 'I'm not sure if I want to be a leader yet.' Both are real answers; don't push.
point You don't have to pick one today. This is a thinking space. Lower the pressure. Reassurance, not a deadline.
12:35 Slide 17/21 Now your turn both
My Plans (P8–9) — three domains + leader goals
enter Now your turn — pens out Activity launch. About 10 minutes writing time; both facilitators walk the room and offer scribing. P7 first (My Future), then P8–9 (My Plans). Goals that look unrealistic or unsafe — don't correct in the room; privately later: 'Tell me more about this one. What would it take?' (Safeguarding signal → DAS procedures.)
12:40 Slide 18/21 Share-back mandy
Share-back (optional)
enter Share if you want to Optional share-back. Mandy shares first — a real-or-representative answer. Thank each person by name. If behind at 12:40, shrink to two or three volunteers rather than a full circle — the PATH Plan day flag cannot be squeezed out.
point One thing from My Future or My Plans Keep it to one thing each.
point You can pass. Passing is fine. Make passing genuinely safe. If someone shares a cultural goal, 'Yes, if that's something you want' — don't add 'great' / 'that's important' / 'tell me more'. Listen, move on (CRR-011).
point Mandy shares first. Mandy models, then around the circle.
12:50 Slide 19/21 Before you go (wrap-up + Appreciations) mandy
Wrap-up + Appreciations
enter Before you go — one goal, feedback, Appreciations Going-out ritual. (1) One goal each to think more about this week. (2) Per-session feedback form — fill-in or co-fac scribing. (3) Mandy runs Appreciations — one specific thing about someone in the room. If behind, feedback goes forms-only and the go-round drops — keep the PATH Plan day flag, Appreciations, and named thank-yous.
12:58 Slide 20/21 Next time — Small Steps mandy
Wrap-up + Appreciations
enter Next time — Small Steps Preview S6 (Thursday 25 June): Small Steps and First Steps.
point Pick one goal One goal carried into next week.
point Break it into small steps Name what S6 does.
point Get ready for your PATH Plan day — your own one-on-one planning day NON-NEGOTIABLE: flag the PATH Plan day clearly — timing, location, who's coming. The plan days happen individually after the group sessions finish, and some participants won't realise that. 'We'll talk to you about booking yours.'
13:00 Slide 21/21 Thank you (back cover) metia
Wrap-up + Appreciations
enter Thank you — Disability Advocacy Service Close. Mandy thanks each person individually as they leave, by name. Don't run past 13:00 — transport is booked.