“I am an entrepreneur who is driven to help others.”
That’s how Paul Blavin responded when I asked him to describe himself in a recent interview conducted over email. Blavin, who further noted he’s been privileged to “have been successful in a broad spectrum of entrepreneurial ventures,” helped established Creating Better Futures, a center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that provides applied behavior analysis (colloquially known as ABA) to autistic children. The facility, which is co-owned and operated by Drs. Dr. James and Patricia Newenschwander, exists to help autistic individuals and their family with ABA. Creating Better Futures offers an early intervention program for young children, as well a so-called junior and adolescent program.
The Center accepts a slew of insurance providers, and offers families this easy-to-read flow chart which visually maps the application process.
Along the lines of Creating Better Futures, Blavin also is behind the Blavin Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. On its website, the Scholar Program is described as “[offering] a community of support (including mentors and coaches) for undergraduate U-M students who have experienced foster care, kinship care and/or are navigating their educational journey without the support of their parents or guardians.” Eligible students receive a panoply of perks, including mentorship, coaching, 24/7 access to on-call staff, and much more. Blavin characterized the Scholars Program as “an innovative and successful program where we provide wrap-around, holistic support for youth who have experienced foster care and/or homelessness to pursue post-secondary education and the foundation for a better life.” Less than 4% of people who age out of foster care, he told me, go on to earn a degree from a 4-year institution such as the University of Michigan. By contrast, the Blavin Scholars Program has achieved an astronomical graduation rate of more than 90%. It celebrated its 100th graduation last year.
I recently wrote about how accessibility (and technology!) has an omnipresence to nigh every little facet of society—and Blavin’s exploits are no different. Consider Creating Better Futures, for the obvious instance. Prior to pivoting to tech journalism in 2013, I spent over a decade working in early childhood special education classrooms. I completed early childhood studies coursework at my then-local community college and was extremely close to completing my Associates degree before making my aforementioned life-altering career change. I spent the majority of my years in the classroom exclusively working with children on the autism spectrum, notably in daily ABA sessions. The cost for third-party services (as opposed to the $0 price tag of public school) isn’t insignificant, which makes Blavin’s approach with Creating Better Futures interesting. Depending on a family’s socio-economic status, it’s plausible extra therapy is simply untenable. Thus, it’s notable how Creating Better Futures has clearly defined how children become clients.
As to the Blavin Scholars Program, it isn’t unrealistic to presume students with disabilities might possibly find interest in it and, if accepted, could benefit greatly from the cornucopia of services. It isn’t trivial, for example, that a disabled person in the Scholars Program could reap gargantuan benefits from, say, the option to secure year-round housing and, more crucially, financial assistance for books and tuition. Of course every college has a Disability Services office, and it’s a tremendous resource in itself, but the Scholars Program has real potential as a supplemental piece of the proverbial puzzle for disabled people trying to get ahead and earn their degree like anyone else.
But can it really help? While I acknowledge the inherent marketing component to sharing such gaudy numbers, the Scholars Program says 100% of its members felt “their coaches were sensitive to issues regarding ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and religion.” However unstated, disability surely is part of that pie. Moreover, the Scholars Program reported 97% of students feeling positive about their experience with coaches being “worthwhile,” while 94% expressed confidence in participating in the University of Michigan’s curriculum.
It’s highly commendable to see one man in Blavin, seemingly an enjoyer of much privilege, put so much of his own wood behind arrows aimed at the betterment of society. Particularly in the areas highlighted in this piece, the moral here is twofold. First, it not only telegraphs the message that it’s always good to uplift others, especially those in underserved communities, it also reaffirms the notion that accessibility and technology lives everywhere. They are forever inextricably tied.