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Newsletter

Vol. 35 Summer 2009

OUR ADDRESS:

In this Issue:

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From the Director’sDeskPage 1

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People PagePage 2

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EMAIL CONTEST!

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Parent 2 Parent &

Customer EducationForum Update

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Get there Green!Page 3

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Justin Clusion

How do I get email?

Page 4

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3608 SE Powell, Portland, OR 97202

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503-232-2289

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Fax: 503-235-6914

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www.inclusioninc.org

Offering people resources and education to direct their lives.

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

“E-Quality at Inclusion Inc” by Howard Miller, PhD

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For what seems like an endless number of years there’s been a lot of talk aboutQUALITY! When Japanese companies were ‘eating our lunch’ and ‘cleaning our clocks’making better cars, stereos and other stuff, the air was positively buzzing with words like“Total Quality Improvement,” “Continuous Quality Improvement,” “Quality Assurance”and on and on.Oregon expects her support service brokerages to have effective quality assuranceprograms. They expect it so seriously that it’s a part of the law which governs how wework and are certified. That is, the Oregon Administrative Rules require that we have aQuality Assurance plan.But what should we plan to look at when we’re trying to figure out if we’re REALLYproviding the highest quality services??

Is getting paperwork done on time (like plans and contracts) a sign of quality?If customers like their personal agents a whole lot, is that a sign of quality?Is getting an error free rating from the field audit team that comes out to lookat our files once a year a sign of quality?

Many people would say that these are indeed signs that Inclusion Inc is doing a goodjob. While they might be (very) partially right this is simply not the case.The only sign that the people of Inclusion Inc are providing the highestquality services is if our customers are living lives in which they exerciseever greater self-determination! Think of it as E-quality!That’s why we’re working hard to write truly effective quality assur-ance plans. We need to measure the right markers so we focus onthose right things. If we really do that we will really be working on that‘self-determination’ we’re always talking about.

—Howard Miller

Did you see our very own BECKY “Bust Yo Butt” BOATWRIGHT on Wipeout!, July 1st on ABC? No? Not to fear! You can watchher again and again at

http://fep.abc.go.com/fep/player?src=abccomjs&show=115332

, Week 6.

PEOPLE PAGE

The mother of one of my customers has started a monthly movie night and would like to extend an invitation to anycustomers with Autism/Asperger’s who might be interested. The “Movie Club” picks one movie a month (they just sawTerminators and Harry Potter is next on the list), they watch it at Lloyd Center Cinema, and then they go to Lloydmall after for dinner andconversation. Her only criteria – as the only supervisor at this point – is that the participants are preferably male,fairly independent, are able to get to and from the cinema, and wear red shirts to the movie.If you have anyone with interest, let me know and I’ll pass the info on to the mother. — Aryn Bartman, Personal Agent503-232-2289x108, abartman@inclusioninc.orgPlease welcome our new staff (from left to right):

Amil Fulton—Personal AgentLena Davidson—Fiscal DirectorBill Lorinz—Administrative AssistantZainab Arinze—Personal AgentMichael Malchow-Hay—Personal AgentLyndsey Gulya—Personal Agent

Welcome aboard folks! We’re glad you’re here!

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

I have a customer who isinterested in selling a portablepotty/commode and a bathtublift. If you would like to purchaseeither of these items, pleasecontact:Jamie Zimmiond, Personal Agent,at 503-232-2289x126 orjzimmiond@inclusioninc.org

Jim Cramer recently left InclusionInc. to pursue a career as an IC.We miss you, Jim!!!

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Cindy Berkman recently moved into her own place in Februaryof ‘09. She also volunteers answering phones and working onprojects at Inclusion Inc.

Please send us your email address so we can add you to our electronic newsletter list, and save a tree! Everyone whosend in their email address will be entered into a drawing to win a laptop computer at our Summer BBQ on August ??? atOverlook Park. Must be present to win. Send your email address to info@inclusioninc.org.

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WHAT’S NEW?

Over the last several months, Inclusion’s Customer Education Committee has hosted forums to bring our parents/caregivers information and support for each other. The turnout has been great, and it is exciting to see parents/caregivers relating to each other. There is a ton of energy, brilliant ideas, and people are left with a sense oftogetherness. We’ve covered topics from guardianship to housing, to just getting together to talk and support eachother’s emotional needs. One of our parents was inspired enough to start holding activity nights for customers! Theactivity nights have been so successful, that the parent has developed a program, Off the Couch Events, which willprovide supports to our customers to host their own activity night. If you are interested in joining our groups, pleaseemail Tracy Hendrick at thendrick@inclusioninc.orgor 503.232.2289 x 115. We’ve also held a couple customer education forums, especially regarding leading healthy lives. As a part ofcustomer education, we’ve worked with The Karen Gaffney foundation to develop a leadership workshop calledLifequest. It began in May, and will run through the end of June. Some of Inclusion’s customers are working weekly todevelop self-advocacy skills, self-awareness and self-esteem, and building up new friendships. This was the pilotseries, but we hope to learn from it, tweak it, and facilitate it again. If you are interested in learning more aboutLifequest, or would be interested in attending a Lifequest workshop in the future, you can contact Tracy Hendrick atthendrick@inclusioninc.orgor 503.232.2289 x 115

EMAIL CONTESTPARENT AND CUSTOMER EDUCATION FORUM“GET THERE GREEN” CONTEST

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To raise awareness of the every increasing need to be environmentallyconscious, all Inclusion Inc. staff is participating in a contest for the monthof June. It’s called our “Get There Green” Contest.Each staff member gets a point for each day they use alternative methodsto get to work, whether it be riding a bike, carpooling with a coworker,walking, or working from home.The contest has been a hit for staff, who have enjoyed competing as teams forthe victory!As an organization, we have already made leaps and bounds in reducing ourenvironmental footprint. We’ve introduced composting, enhanced our recyclingsystem, evaluated our lighting systems, implemented a technology recyclingprogram, switched to earth-friendly disposable paper ware, reduced our waste at our favorite café, and now makea green offset donation every time we buy a new laptop.If you would like tips on how to “go green,” a great online resource is http://www.treehugger.com, “a one-stop shopfor green news, solutions, and product information.”