REFLECTIONS; Entrepreneurship, Self-advocacy and Independence

Written by Dr. Dasaratha Rama

As we come to the end of the six weeks of the entrepreneurship summer camp, the thought that stands out for me is that entrepreneurship can be an important step towards self-advocacy and eventually greater independence for individuals with developmental disabilities. Entrepreneurship may be particularly important for individuals like our son who tends to get overwhelmed and disengage when the learning environment does not match his learning style and needs. Entrepreneurship as taught in the E4i curriculum provides many tools for these individuals to advocate for themselves and to stay engaged in any environment. I see the following as the key benefits of the E4i experience: (1) enhancing perspective-taking, (2) developing self-awareness, (3) engaging parents/mentors, (4) developing a viable business, and (5) setting the stage for self-advocacy.

Enhancing Perspective-taking

By definition, entrepreneurship takes into account an individual’s strengths and interests even as it tries to create value for others. This type of perspective-taking that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship can be challenging for individuals with autism because of the difficulty that these individuals face in communicating with others. Entrepreneurship can serve as a vehicle both for making individuals with disabilities aware of their strengths as well as to help them see ways in which they can leverage these strengths to do something for others.

Developing Self-awareness

Through the E4i summer camp experience, we have planted the seed for self-advocacy through enhancing self-awareness. An entrepreneurial perspective on self-advocacy has subtle but profound differences from notions of self-advocacy rooted in what an individual cannot do. The E4i slogan “Do what you love, love what you do” captures this essential difference. The starting point for the E4i journey is what the individual can do and loves to do. The goal is to transform what the individual already does to something that could be a foundation for independent living. This philosophy when translated into practice results in ongoing conversations to help individuals think about and express what they love to do and how that could be transformed into something of value for others.

Engaging parents/mentors

Parents and other mentors to individuals with disabilities have a critical role to play in the E4i process. Parents and mentors who have known the individual for a long time can help nudge the individual’s interest towards creating something for others. More importantly, E4i provides tools for parents to transform how they engage individuals with disabilities as these individuals move towards greater independence.

Our son has a strong connection to the arts. He learns the piano, violin, and dance. As we started the program, he started with the idea of dance being the interest that could potentially transform into a business venture. While this might be possible in the long run, I nudged him towards another interest - folding circles. I have found that folding brings something unique to the process of organizing ideas that no other tool does. Thus I nudged our son towards “Fold, Color, and Talk” as a possibility for a business venture.

The E4i program has been extremely helpful for me in figuring out how to nudge our son’s interests and help transform them into a potentially viable business. The participation of parents on the E4i network is a step in the right direction. I hope Picasso Einstein continues to strengthen parental involvement over time.

Developing a Viable Business

Last week I learned about an animation tool (www.powtoon.com). It struck me that this tool would be of immense value to my son since it is difficult to effectively communicate the value of the Fold, Color, and Talk approach that uses movement, touch, and observation to anchor learning through words. I think it is difficult for everyone but particularly so for individuals like my son. Animation allows us to effectively tap into visual and other elements while explaining Fold, Color, and Talk. We spent many hours over the last few days transitioning to Powtoon and Prezi as the tools for delivering Fold, Color, and Talk products and services. Again, the E4i summer camp played an important role in this process. The fact that students had to make a presentation this week served as a catalyst for us to work on this quickly!

I also nudged my son towards the idea of “Foldtoons” as Fold, Color, and Talk’s signature product. A practical reason was that I found that words like workbook and workshop did not resonate with my son. When many ideas were being discussed in the summer camp, I found him unable to retrieve these words. I realized that we had to find a name that was memorable for him!

Setting the stage for Self-Advocacy

As we worked on the business description, mission statement, and other elements on the way to the presentation, my son and I had opportunities for structured dialog on converting years of experience into a business. For the first time we discussed how what we have worked on for years can benefit others, especially those with autism and other developmental disabilities. Over the years, I have had this conversation with many parents and educators. Now our son is an active part of this conversation thanks to the E4i program. As he continues his educational journey, an awareness of what works and does not work for him, and engaging any learning environment with that awareness will better prepare him to learn in varied environments.

In six weeks, we have made tremendous progress on this journey towards self-advocacy and independence. Until now, I have been the primary advocate for him as I have home-schooled him for many years. It is time to gradually transfer that role to him so that he feels more empowered to continue his journey towards independence. The E4i program has been very timely for us. I have recognized the need for transferring the advocacy role to him; E4i has provided me many tools for achieving this goal. We look forward to continuing our entrepreneurship journey with Picasso Einstein over the upcoming years!