Great Lakes Wire

On the latest episode of the Small Business Association of Michigan’s weekly podcast, Michael Rogers interviewed Reena Naami, Owner and Founding CEO of the Spark Center for Autism. The center was recently recognized as one of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch. Under Naami’s leadership, the organization has expanded from a team of two to nearly 50 employees and introduced new initiatives such as a summer learning program and internships.

During the interview, Naami discussed strategies for making workplaces more inclusive and accessible for neurodiverse individuals. She emphasized that inclusion benefits everyone in an organization, not just those receiving accommodations. “It’s really important to remember that inclusion and accessibility benefits everyone, and not just those who are meant to be the recipients of accommodations,” she said. “So when we think about it as business owners and entrepreneurs, providing accommodations can actually have a really great return on investment across the board. And the other point is that adjustments and accommodations don’t need to be on a huge scale or necessarily require a lot of work or even money. They can be small adjustments that can still make really large impacts.”

The Small Business Association of Michigan’s podcast features expert interviews aimed at helping small business owners improve their effectiveness. New episodes are available each week through iTunes subscriptions, and previous podcasts can be accessed on SBAM’s Media Hub.