The Imagine More podcast

In this practical, interactive session, Janet Klees will zero in on some essential elements and strategies that ensure that you and your team are on their way to making a lasting and positive difference in the lifestyle and experience of your family member.

Together, we will:

• Discover which elements to focus on to make the most significant difference in a good life in community with your family member
• Zero in on the different perspectives of every team member – the person, family, support – and why this matters
• Define “good support” – what does it look like, feel like, sound like when it happens, and what gets in the way
• Learn how to orient new staff to the position of being a bridge to community
• Explore the concept of being a bridge:
• how your presence can impact belonging
• what “fading” can look like, and
• the inherent but essential tensions to master
• Learn how to harness resilience
• Discover the power of thinking in metaphor

This session has been split into three parts. This is part one.

This session was introduced by Gus Reichelt

Hi, my name is Gus. I would like to tell you about Janet Klees. Janet lives in Canada. Her work is very important. It is based on SRV (Social Role Valorisation). She helps people with disability to get the good things in life. Janet believes that it's important to build strong communities that welcome everyone. Janet is very good at teaching the best way to support people with disability.

Last time Janet spoke about "Building a Powerhouse Team: Families and Their Support." Her presentation today is called “Towards Mastering the Essentials of the Powerhouse Team.”

I hope you enjoy listening to Janet.

Janet Klees is the Executive Director of the Durham Association for Family Resources and Support, a family-centred, SRV-anchored resource and support centre for families interested in building good, ordinary lives in community for and with their family members with disability.

Janet has spoken many times at our events over the years. She is a popular presenter because of her ability to communicate the nuances of supporting people with disability to enjoy the good things of life.

• Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
• Resources about SRV on the Imagine More website
• International Social Role Valorisation Association
• Australian SRV Association (ASRVA)
• Vision - Resources about vision on the Imagine More website
• The Good Things in Life - Resources about A Good Life on the Imagine More website
• We come bearing gifts: The story of the Deohaeko Support Network (1996) by Janet Klees - available from CRU
• Our Presence Has Roots: The ongoing story of the Deohaeko Support Network (2005) by Janet Klees - available from CRU

In this presentation, you will hear how Jacob’s family thoughtfully and intentionally crafted a Good Life for him.

Jacob leads a life full of meaning, purpose, contribution, and belonging. Amongst other roles, he is a

• Woolworths employee
• small business owner
• coffee trailer volunteer
• surfer and surf club member
• dancer
• gym and music enthusiast
• and much-loved brother and uncle.

Together, Jacob’s family made intentional choices about critical life elements such as education, community and work. The strong Vision they hold for Jacob’s life has guided this process every step of the way.

This presentation will highlight the importance of having a Vision for a Good Life. It will emphasise the value of seeking typical experiences and holding high expectations for people with disability. And it will demonstrate how community connection can lead to opportunities, enduring relationships, and a life filled with rich experiences.

This session was introduced by Jessie Ward.

Hello everyone. My name is Jessie Ward.  I am a year 12 student, and I am here to introduce you to Annette Bush and Jacob Bush. 

Jacob is a young man of 22 years. He lives in NSW. He is a surfer, a gym member, dancer and an Essential worker at Woolworths. He has followed an ordinary inclusive life throughout school. This has given him many opportunities for getting good things in life. 

Annette is Jacob's mother.  She is a big believer of inclusion. Annette has presented at many workshops about the benefits of having an inclusive life for people with disability. She thinks having an inclusive start at school is very important in getting the ‘Good Things in life’. 

Today Annette will share Jacob’s journey with us. She will talk to us about the importance of having a vision and how this helped her son walk an ordinary life path to get the good things in life. 

Jacob is a young man of 22 years. He is a surfer, gym member, bike rider, and dancer. Pursuing these interests has broadened his connections to his community while also keeping him fit and healthy.

Jacob graduated from Year 12 in 2018. Throughout his school years, Jacob was fully included in regular classes alongside his peers. This typical school journey provided many opportunities, including numerous work experience placements during high school. These experiences led to Jacob’s current employment as an essential worker at Woolworths.

Annette is the mother of five children and grandmother to two. She is passionate about inclusion and belonging in community.

Annette believes that inclusion in the school setting is where the Good Life journey starts. In her experience, inclusive education was the critical factor that created community belonging for her son.

Annette has been affiliated with Family Advocacy NSW for 18 years. She has spoken at and facilitated many workshops promoting inclusion in education, the community, and the workforce.

• Vision - Resources about Vision on the Imagine More website
• Inclusive education - Resources about inclusive education on the Imagine More website
• Employment - Resources about employment on the Imagine More website
• Accept Difference Inclusive Employment - This is the video shared in the presentation that tells Jacob’s story of being a valued Woolworths employee 

When Families and Paid Supporters share a vision of the role and value of paid support in bringing about a fuller, contributing life in the community, then anything is possible!

Families don’t have time or resources to waste, so this session will focus on tactics that are immediately actionable. You’ll learn ways to ensure that paid support leads to meaningful and rich lifestyles that are filled with opportunities for contribution and relationship.

During this two-hour presentation, Janet will focus on the unique role of paid support. She’ll explain how the role can be powerful when both family and paid supporters understand what “effective support” actually means.

You’ll gain clarity about the most crucial role of the supporter: being a bridge to community and relationship. Janet will share stories, strategies, and examples of effective bridge-building. These are based on many years of combined experience with families and supports.

You will learn:

• about support as an essential bridging role
• how to create situations that will provide rich opportunities for building a bridge.

Then Janet will provide some practical tactics, including

• how to turn everyday situations into moments of possibility
• how to think through all support actions and requirements using the “bridge lens”, and
• how to provide direct support to make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

This presentation is a must-see for families and the support workers, coaches, and mentors they employ.

This session has been split into four parts. This is part four.

In part one Janet talked about how crafting and sharing a vision for a good life provides a path forward to a desirable future.

Part two included ideas to thoughtfully get to know who the person is at their core. Janet also investigated the essential role of (paid) support being the bridging of relationships, not the relationships itself.

In part three Janet shared some intentional design and implementation strategies focused on building valued roles.

Janet Klees is the Executive Director of the Durham Association for Family Resources and Support, a family-centred, SRV-anchored resource and support centre for families interested in building good, ordinary lives in community for and with their family members with disability.

Janet has spoken many times at our events over the years. She is a popular presenter because of her ability to communicate the nuances of supporting people with disability to enjoy the good things of life.

• Building a Context for Relationship - Janet abbreviates this to "BCR" during her presentation
• Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
• Resources on SRV on the Imagine More website
• International Social Role Valorisation Association
• Australian SRV Association (ASRVA)

When Families and Paid Supporters share a vision of the role and value of paid support in bringing about a fuller, contributing life in the community, then anything is possible!

Families don’t have time or resources to waste, so this session will focus on tactics that are immediately actionable. You’ll learn ways to ensure that paid support leads to meaningful and rich lifestyles that are filled with opportunities for contribution and relationship.

During this two-hour presentation, Janet will focus on the unique role of paid support. She’ll explain how the role can be powerful when both family and paid supporters understand what “effective support” actually means.

You’ll gain clarity about the most crucial role of the supporter: being a bridge to community and relationship. Janet will share stories, strategies, and examples of effective bridge-building. These are based on many years of combined experience with families and supports.

You will learn:

• about support as an essential bridging role
• how to create situations that will provide rich opportunities for building a bridge.

Then Janet will provide some practical tactics, including

• how to turn everyday situations into moments of possibility
• how to think through all support actions and requirements using the “bridge lens”, and
• how to provide direct support to make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

This presentation is a must-see for families and the support workers, coaches, and mentors they employ.

This session has been split into four parts. This is part three.

In part one Janet talked about how crafting and sharing a vision for a good life provides a path forward to a desirable future. Part two included ideas to thoughtfully get to know who the person is at their core. Janet also investigated the essential role of (paid) support being the bridging of relationships, not the relationships itself.

Janet Klees is the Executive Director of the Durham Association for Family Resources and Support, a family-centred, SRV-anchored resource and support centre for families interested in building good, ordinary lives in community for and with their family members with disability.

Janet has spoken many times at our events over the years. She is a popular presenter because of her ability to communicate the nuances of supporting people with disability to enjoy the good things of life.

• Building a Context for Relationship - Janet abbreviates this to "BCR" during her presentation
• Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
• Resources on SRV on the Imagine More website
• International Social Role Valorisation Association
• Australian SRV Association (ASRVA)

When Families and Paid Supporters share a vision of the role and value of paid support in bringing about a fuller, contributing life in the community, then anything is possible!

Families don’t have time or resources to waste, so this session will focus on tactics that are immediately actionable. You’ll learn ways to ensure that paid support leads to meaningful and rich lifestyles that are filled with opportunities for contribution and relationship.

During this two-hour presentation, Janet will focus on the unique role of paid support. She’ll explain how the role can be powerful when both family and paid supporters understand what “effective support” actually means.

You’ll gain clarity about the most crucial role of the supporter: being a bridge to community and relationship. Janet will share stories, strategies, and examples of effective bridge-building. These are based on many years of combined experience with families and supports.

You will learn:

• about support as an essential bridging role
• how to create situations that will provide rich opportunities for building a bridge.

Then Janet will provide some practical tactics, including

• how to turn everyday situations into moments of possibility
• how to think through all support actions and requirements using the “bridge lens”, and
• how to provide direct support to make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

This presentation is a must-see for families and the support workers, coaches, and mentors they employ.

This session has been split into four parts. This is part two.

In part one Janet talked about how crafting and sharing a vision for a good life provides a path forward to a desirable future.

Janet Klees is the Executive Director of the Durham Association for Family Resources and Support, a family-centred, SRV-anchored resource and support centre for families interested in building good, ordinary lives in community for and with their family members with disability.

Janet has spoken many times at our events over the years. She is a popular presenter because of her ability to communicate the nuances of supporting people with disability to enjoy the good things of life.

• Building a Context for Relationship - Janet abbreviates this to "BCR" during her presentation
• Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
• Resources on SRV on the Imagine More website
• International Social Role Valorisation Association
• Australian SRV Association (ASRVA)

When Families and Paid Supporters share a vision of the role and value of paid support in bringing about a fuller, contributing life in the community, then anything is possible!

Families don’t have time or resources to waste, so this session will focus on tactics that are immediately actionable. You’ll learn ways to ensure that paid support leads to meaningful and rich lifestyles that are filled with opportunities for contribution and relationship.

During this two-hour presentation, Janet will focus on the unique role of paid support. She’ll explain how the role can be powerful when both family and paid supporters understand what “effective support” actually means.

You’ll gain clarity about the most crucial role of the supporter: being a bridge to community and relationship. Janet will share stories, strategies, and examples of effective bridge-building. These are based on many years of combined experience with families and supports.

You will learn:

• about support as an essential bridging role
• how to create situations that will provide rich opportunities for building a bridge.

Then Janet will provide some practical tactics, including

• how to turn everyday situations into moments of possibility
• how to think through all support actions and requirements using the “bridge lens”, and
• how to provide direct support to make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

This presentation is a must-see for families and the support workers, coaches, and mentors they employ.

This session has been split into four parts. This is part one.

This session was introduced by Gus Reichelt

Hi, my name is Gus. I would like to tell you about Janet Klees. Janet lives in Canada. Her work is very important. It is based on SRV (Social Role Valorisation). She helps people with disability to get the good things in life. Janet believes that it's important to build strong communities that welcome everyone. People with disability do best when they live in their local community. Janet is very good at teaching the best way to support people with disability.

Today Janet will speak to us about "Building a Powerhouse Team: Families and Their Support." I hope you enjoy listening to Janet.

Janet Klees is the Executive Director of the Durham Association for Family Resources and Support, a family-centred, SRV-anchored resource and support centre for families interested in building good, ordinary lives in community for and with their family members with disability.

Janet has spoken many times at our events over the years. She is a popular presenter because of her ability to communicate the nuances of supporting people with disability to enjoy the good things of life.

• Building a Context for Relationship - Janet abbreviates this to "BCR" during her presentation
• Social Role Valorisation (SRV)
• Resources on SRV on the Imagine More website
• International Social Role Valorisation Association
• Australian SRV Association (ASRVA)

Milton Tyree joined us from the US to discuss the significance of suitable employment for people with disabilities. The session focused on the evolution of open employment services over the last 40 years.

One of the most challenging decisions facing employment supporters is determining their own role. It can be hard to know when to get involved and when to step aside. So Milton discussed the best way to instruct and support an employee with a disability.

Related to this role dilemma, Milton examined the relevance of two frameworks for the role of the employment supporter:

• Social Role Valorisation (SRV) theory’s Culturally Valued Analogue (CVA)
• Marc Gold & Associates (MG&A) 7-Phase Sequence

Milton introduced the concept of Discovery. Discovery is an alternative to competitive, comparative methods of traditional vocational assessment. He explained

• the benefits of devoting time to people
• how to discern interests related to work
• how to identify conditions for the employee to be at their best, and
• how to let employers know the contributions that the person can offer to the workplace.

Finally, Milton explained the distinctions between customised jobs and labour market jobs. He introduces the concept of personal representation in job development.

This session has been split into three parts. This is part three.

In part one Milton talked about why employment is important for people with disabilities and explored some ways that open employment has raised the bar for suitably challenging, fitting employment possibilities for people with disability. In part two Milton provided an overview of Discovery and an introduction to Job Development.

Milton, who is based in the US, has professional and personal experience over decades of helping people with disabilities have strong work roles. He uses the principles of SRV (Social Role Valorisation) as a foundation for his work.

Milton helps individuals and organisations include, involve, and appreciate people who are so often unknown, misunderstood, and rejected. He’ll be sharing his insights about customised employment and how to get the job set up well right from the start.

In 2013, Milton received The Marc Gold Award for Employment. This award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to increasing access to community and integrated employment for people with significant disabilities.

Milton is a Project Associate for the University of Kentucky. He owns Milton Tyree Employment Consulting LLC.

• Marc Gold and Associates - Discovery Series
• Marc Gold and Associates - Job Development Series

Milton Tyree joined us from the US to discuss the significance of suitable employment for people with disabilities. The session focused on the evolution of open employment services over the last 40 years.

One of the most challenging decisions facing employment supporters is determining their own role. It can be hard to know when to get involved and when to step aside. So Milton discussed the best way to instruct and support an employee with a disability.

Related to this role dilemma, Milton examined the relevance of two frameworks for the role of the employment supporter:

• Social Role Valorisation (SRV) theory’s Culturally Valued Analogue (CVA)
• Marc Gold & Associates (MG&A) 7-Phase Sequence

Milton introduced the concept of Discovery. Discovery is an alternative to competitive, comparative methods of traditional vocational assessment. He explained

• the benefits of devoting time to people
• how to discern interests related to work
• how to identify conditions for the employee to be at their best, and
• how to let employers know the contributions that the person can offer to the workplace.

Finally, Milton explained the distinctions between customised jobs and labour market jobs. He introduced the concept of personal representation in job development.

This session has been split into three parts. This is part two.

In part one Milton talked about why employment is important for people with disabilities and explored some ways that open employment has raised the bar for suitably challenging, fitting employment possibilities for people with disability.

Milton, who is based in the US, has professional and personal experience over decades of helping people with disabilities have strong work roles. He uses the principles of SRV (Social Role Valorisation) as a foundation for his work.

Milton helps individuals and organisations include, involve, and appreciate people who are so often unknown, misunderstood, and rejected. He’ll be sharing his insights about customised employment and how to get the job set up well right from the start.

In 2013, Milton received The Marc Gold Award for Employment. This award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to increasing access to community and integrated employment for people with significant disabilities.

Milton is a Project Associate for the University of Kentucky. He owns Milton Tyree Employment Consulting LLC.

• Marc Gold and Associates - Discovery Series
• Nisbet, J., & Hagner, D. (1988). Natural supports in the workplace: A reexamination of supported employment. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 13(4), 260–267.
• Mank, D., Cioffi, A., & Yovanoff, P. (1997). Analysis of the typicalness of supported employment jobs, natural supports, and wage and integration outcomes. Mental Retardation, 35(3), 185–197.
• Keys to the Workplace: Skills and Supports for People With Disabilities (1997) by Michael J. Callahan and J. Bradley Garner
• Marc Gold and Associates - Systematic Instruction and Job Site Supports

In this second pre-conference webinar, Milton Tyree joined us from the US to discuss the significance of suitable employment for people with disabilities. The session focused on the evolution of open employment services over the last 40 years.

One of the most challenging decisions facing employment supporters is determining their own role. It can be hard to know when to get involved and when to step aside. So Milton discussed the best way to instruct and support an employee with a disability.

Related to this role dilemma, Milton examined the relevance of two frameworks for the role of the employment supporter:

• Social Role Valorisation (SRV) theory’s Culturally Valued Analogue (CVA)
• Marc Gold & Associates (MG&A) 7-Phase Sequence

Milton then introduced the concept of Discovery. Discovery is an alternative to competitive, comparative methods of traditional vocational assessment. He explained

• the benefits of devoting time to people
• how to discern interests related to work
• how to identify conditions for the employee to be at their best, and
• how to let employers know the contributions that the person can offer to the workplace.

Finally, Milton explained the distinctions between customised jobs and labour market jobs. He introduced the concept of personal representation in job development.

This session has been split into three parts. This is part one.

This session was introduced by Max Grinsell-Jones

Hi, my name is Max. I would like to introduce Milton Tyree. Milton lives in the USA. He helps people with disability to have strong work roles. He has been doing this for many years. Milton helps people and workplaces to be more inclusive. He shows them how to create work roles to suit each person. His work is based on SRV. Milton will show us how to get a job set up well right from the start.

Today Milton will be talking about “Doing a Good Job of Getting a Good Job in Open Employment”. I hope you enjoy listening to Milton. 

Milton, who is based in the US, has professional and personal experience over decades of helping people with disabilities have strong work roles. He uses the principles of SRV (Social Role Valorisation) as a foundation for his work.

Milton helps individuals and organisations include, involve, and appreciate people who are so often unknown, misunderstood, and rejected. He’ll be sharing his insights about customised employment and how to get the job set up well right from the start.

In 2013, Milton received The Marc Gold Award for Employment. This award is presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to increasing access to community and integrated employment for people with significant disabilities.

Milton is a Project Associate for the University of Kentucky. He owns Milton Tyree Employment Consulting LLC.

• Marc Gold and Associates
• Bellamy, G. T., Rhodes, L. E., Mank, D. M., & Albin, J. M. (1988). Supported employment: A community implementation guide. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. 
• Nazarov, Z. E., Golden, T. P., & von Schrader, S. (2012). Prevocational services and supported employment wages. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 37 (2), 119 - 129.
• Sandra Stokley (2016) For Transition-Age Students, Mock Store Offers Job Training. The Press-Enterprise/TNS (March 1 2016)

According to the Disability Standards of Education, every child has the right to access and participate in teaching, learning and assessment experiences on the same basis as their peers. But what does this look like in reality? As a parent, how do you ensure it’s happening for your child? As a teacher, how do you make sure you are providing it for your students?

Many children with disability have individual learning goals. These are often formalised into an Individual Education Plan. As a result, the student often ends up doing different work than their classmates.

In this presentation, Sarah Humphreys shared examples of how these personal goals can instead help provide access to the same learning as the rest of the class. Her goal was for participants to feel confident to not settle for “doing something else”.

This session has been split into three parts. This is part three.

In part one Sarah talked about how a group of students can all do the same thing but can go about it in different ways. She highlighted the importance of presuming competence, "all students can learn" and providing choice and flexibility through the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework.

In part two we heard how well thought out goals can support access to the same learning.

Sarah Humphreys is an inclusion consultant and co-founder of Inclusive Schools Australia. She is passionate about developing and promoting curriculum access for all. Sarah promotes the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to achieve this goal.

She presented at the UDL Implementation and Research Network, USA, on how the principles of UDL were applied to the development of the Australian Curriculum. She now works with schools supporting its implementation.

Sarah has a Master’s Degree in Special Education from London University.

• Resources by Sarah Humphreys in Padlet- your electronic webinar handout

• Website: https://inclusiveschools.com.au/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/inclusiveschaus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inclusiveschaus