Lessons From a Young Entrepreneur Who Has Autism

Business August 31, 2012 / By Ben Weinlick

SYNOPSIS

An example of creativity applied in human services

Okay, I admit I’m biased here because the young entrepreneur (Anthony) in the inspiring video below is my step-brother. However, the recent media coverage and a large number of views on YouTube are not biased and show how people have been inspired by Anthony’s story and keep sharing it. Since his video was released on August 15th, 2012, Anthony’s video has had over 120,000 Youtube views, has been covered in national media and he received an email from CNN yesterday. I should also add that I had nothing to do with the video.

The video below was made by Anthony’s stellar support worker, Mikey Hamm, and is about the launch of my brother’s courier business, Anthony At Your Service. Part of what is so cool about the video is that few people would think that a guy like my brother who has a significant disability could be supported to be an entrepreneur and contribute to society like any other citizen. I love how the video breaks our preconceived ideas about disability and does it with humour. The video shows how a little creative thinking applied in human services(social services) can result in support models that aren’t simply about caring for the physical needs of vulnerable persons, but also help to empower and increase the quality of life in a more complete way. And really, at the heart of human services, it’s about supporting people to have a good life and opportunities like any other person in society.

To do what Anthony’s support worker has done takes seeing a person with a disability as having gifts to contribute and some creative thinking to figure out new ways to link a person’s natural interests to valued roles. From Anthony’s interests in being challenged, going out, meeting new people, math, and crossing things off a list, that was linked to figuring out a way to provide my brother with a real job and way to connect with others more. The result of this creativity on the part of Mikey and my brother’s other supports, is Anthony being seen for his contributions in the community and now having a booming courier business.

Often the challenge in human services/community disability support services is that organizations and support staff do not see how they can link a person’s natural interests and talents with valued roles that increase the quality of life. Too often, we human service workers are blinded by seeing only deficits, glass half empty kind of stuff, and perceived restrictions. This is one of the reasons we need new thinking, creative thinking, and ways to break out of old assumptions about support services and persons with disabilities. With stories and videos like the one about my brother, it will for sure help in shifting people’s perception about what’s possible.

In the same way, creativity is needed more than ever in business in order for products and services to stay relevant in our fast-paced times, creativity is also deeply needed in human services so that support services are relevant to a person and actually improve their overall quality of life.

Hats off to my bro and Mikey!

Below is another related article on the need for creativity in human services

Click here for the article on the Creativity Post

Bright Ideas in Human Services

Project Citizenship: People with disabilities and their stories of engaged citizenship

Huffington Post article on Anthony

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www.thinkjarcollective.com

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Author

Ben Weinlick

Ben Weinlick, MA is the founder of Think Jar Collective, a website and a group of people from diverse disciplines bringing together unique perspectives on creative thinking and innovation. Before Ben entered the community development and disability services field over 13 years ago, he thought he was going to spend his life terrorizing the experimental music and art scene. Always an idealist, Ben thought he was making a less egotistical choice by giving up art to work in a field more actively engaged in social justice issues. He soon discovered otherwise… Ben reminisced of this period, “I found I could be just as much of an ass (egotistical) in human services as the art world and began to see it was not about the domain one works in that matters in how you benefit others, but what kind of view one brings to whatever one does.” Eventually seeing the value of a creative approach in human services led Ben to complete a master's thesis which focused on enhancing creative thinking in human service design and delivery. Currently, Ben is leading think tank teams in the implementation of the research recommendations at SKILLS Society in Canada. Within Canada, Ben has been seen as a leader and innovator who is passionate about improving the quality of support services for people with disabilities. Currently, Ben is the Senior Leader of Research and Organizational Learning at SKILLS Society, part time faculty at Macewan University, a keynote speaker on creativity in human services and consults throughout Canada.... He also stills makes weird experimental music in his spare time. Of Ben’s passion he says, “People in disability services are often asking for innovation and creativity, I’m interested in how we can get our minds unstuck from status quo assumptions and see with fresh, creative eyes. If we can do a little more of that, we will set the stage for creativity and relevant innovations to emerge. I am very passionate about leading organizations to develop cultures where creativity thrives and yields better quality support services.”

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