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.

Meet Milton Tyree

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.

Resources related to Milton’s presentation

• 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